


Disgaea: Gehenna's Holy Queen

by The Ansem Man (Cygnus)



Category: Disgaea (Games), Mahou Sensei Negima!
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Comedy, Crossover, F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-05-31
Updated: 2012-12-07
Packaged: 2017-11-06 11:16:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 141,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/418277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cygnus/pseuds/The%20Ansem%20Man
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Who says you need things like "experience" or "sanity" to be a badass frickin' overlord? Well, if you're the main character, that's the least of your worries if you're strong enough to end the world. So learneth Konoka Konoe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A certain overlord awakens from her slumber...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Disclaimer: The author would like to remind you that he bears no ownership of the franchises represented here, only a few original creations scattered within. This is done for fun and certainly NOT profit! This should also hopefully require no previous knowledge of the Disgaea franchise.
> 
> This diverges from chapter 270 of the Negima manga. Any and all events that take place OR known after it are subject to interpretation!
> 
> Oh, and a small warning.  _KonoSetsu fans might not like this story, even with the yuri content._   **You have been warned.** )

**Prologue: Awakening**

-

The Netherworld.

Those who live in either Mundus Vetus or Mundus Magicus have only vaguely heard or referred to the land where demons and devils roam. The land which is soaked in the most murderous of mayhem, the most malcontent of manners and the most malicious of murders is home to some of the greatest demons the universe has ever known. These demons spread horrifying disasters in their wake, bringing death and destruction with them for ride through hell's highway.

Or so they  _want_  you to believe. After three video games where all the more horrifying villains get their asses royally kicked, you'd think they'd start learning to control their rumors a bit better.

But perhaps there is merit in the grim and dark tales of the Netherworld—the most powerful of demons are known as Overlords, and they rule the separate lands which comprise this hellish world. Their tales spanned continents, realms, and even entire worlds with their feats of explosions, false and true villainy, and innumerable amounts of poodles poked.

Still, there are still those that are fascinated by this vindictive and chaotic world. If you are one of those people, read on. But don't say I didn't warn you. After all, as the old adage goes: " _Be bold, be bold, but not_ too _bold, lest the blood of your heart run cold._ "

This legend begins when the youngest overlord in all of the Netherworld awakens from a three-year slumber...

* * *

The girl stirred, and her dreams (or were they nightmares?) vanished like the shadows chased out from the sun.

Rising from her sheets, she rubbed her bleary eyes. "Huh...?" As the world returned to her vision, she saw she was in a massive bedroom, with equally massive bed to match. The ceiling was fairly low, however, making the room far cozier for its size. There was a problem though—not a single thing was familiar.

To put it bluntly, she was  _confused_.

"Where am I?" The girl's voice stood above a whisper.

"She's totally awake, dood!" A voice spoke, slightly muffled. "What do we do?!"

"It doesn't sound like she's got any issues, dood," another spoke. "Let's just go in and see what's going on."

The large door opened, and two curious creatures, stepped in. They resembled penguins—though these particular ones had googly eyes and tiny bat wings on their back. Bearing peg legs and a small utility belt, they looked far stranger than anything the girl had ever seen—or at least, remembered. "H-hello, new master!"

"Huh?" She wasn't quite sure what was stranger—the penguins before her or their rather fearful greeting. Deciding her usual personality could at least warm them up a bit, she smiled. "Who... or what are you?"

The odd penguins traded looks. Complete... confusion? Innocence? Where the hell was the maniacal laughter? The cold indifference? This kid was like a child at an aquarium! One turned back to her, deciding to take this bait. "We're prinnies! We're like, your eternal servants now, dood!"

"...servants? Since when did I need servants? I had some back at home, but..." She looked around. "This... isn't my home."

"It is now."

"I don't think so," The girl pouted. "This has to be a crazy dream. Even at my house I don't have a room this big..."

The so-called prinnies exchanged looks. "You're waaaay different than we imagined, dood."

"Different?" The girl pursed a finger under her mouth, as if processing a confusing thought.

"Not as nearly scary as most of the overlords, dood," the other agreed. "How that's possible after what you pulled off..."

"I don't really  _do_  scary, but... Overlord?" The girl pointed to herself, giggling lightly. "What do you mean? And why am I one?"

"Powerful ruler of the land, dood!" One prinny spoke up. "You totally wiped out the previous overlord and 999 other residents, so it's  _your_  job now! We and a few others barely escaped with our lives, dood!"

"Eh?!" The girl staggered back from the news as if struck. She... killed that many people? In cold blood? This was some elaborate joke, right? "But I don't remember anything..." The flashes of something, some dark secret, lurked in the back of her mind, but she couldn't quite connect it to anything. "The last thing I remember was falling, and-and someone trying to catch me..."

"You might not remember, dood," The netherworld penguin added. "That was three years ago. You've been sleeping since then."

"What kind of place would give a ruling title to someone like me... if I even did such things?!" Yep, still thinks it's a joke.

"How the Netherworld works, dood!" The prinny explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the universe. He leaned in, as if trying to whisper to the girl's ear. "Just between us, you did the Netherworld a  _massive_  favor, dood."

"Really...?" The girl didn't sound convinced in the least. Hell, for all she knew, this was still an elaborate dream—maybe if she pinched herself, she'd wake up in the comfort of her own bed, where she could resume her idyllic—or at least less twisted—life.

But she pinched herself. And alas, that life did not return.

Reality was already here.

Figuring she was still unconvinced, one of the penguins dashed over to the other side of the room before using his puny body to drag out a mirror. "If ya don't believe us, dood, just check yourself out in the mirror!"

The girl slowly rose and stepped towards the mirror, not sure why her heart was filled with so much trepidation. Finally, she saw herself.

She could barely recognize herself. While she still had the same face, dark brown eyes and long hair she remembered, she was much taller now. Her body had somehow become well endowed in her sleep, but most of all were the horns growing from her head. She had to reach up and feel them to prove to her mind that they were there. And why did she have... wings?! White wings, like...

Her memory backstabbed her and made off like a dude stealing someone's bike.

Her mind was probably broken at this point because she felt that white, spade-tipped tail was just "a nice touch." There were far too many emotions rampaging about in her mind like a mosh pit, so she simply sank to her knees. "I thought I was... human. Wasn't I always human?"

"Not anymore, dood," A prinny said. "Kill enough demons and you become one. That's why we said you were an Overlord, dood."

"So I really did..." The weight of everything was crashing down on her—no memories after falling from someplace, and she wakes up to realize that three years have gone by and now she's the ruler of a land she doesn't know thanks to a mass murder she doesn't remember.

Those strange penguins saw her somber state and, well, tried to cheer her up. "Don't worry, uhh... what's your name, master dood?" The servant prinny asked softly to the poor, confused girl.

"..." She stood up. "Konoka. Konoka Konoe."

"Well, umm, Master Konoka, dood?" One of the penguins began. "Would you like us to fix you some food or something? You gotta be hungry after three years of not eating, dood."

"Umm, sure!" The girl known as Konoka Konoe simpered, as her stomach protested in agreement. "...in the meantime, why don't you explain to me more about this... world we're all in?"

"Sure, dood!" The penguins saluted, and were about to turn tail before they suddenly stopped, as if some idea, rather than some physical force, held them back. "...um, before we go, you might wanna get changed into some, you know, actual clothes. Wearing sheets when you're not a ghost is like, 80's, dood."

Konoka Konoe realized that they were entirely correct, and outside of said sheets, she was wearing about nothing.  _This was bad._

And with a tiny "Eep!" Konoka did the first and only normal thing she would do for a very long while—get dressed.

* * *

"M-master Lunzard!" Two completely different prinny servants scrambled down some sprawling metal steps, deep into the basement of this sprawling castle. Mechanical gears and machines in various stages of completion and repair dotted the basement like a modernist landscape. But these guys didn't bother—they had news to report! Big frickin' news!

"What?! What is it?!" A grouchy, somewhat gruff and yet young-sounding voice snapped back.

The penguin creatures came to a stop in front of what looked like a massive, egg-shaped golem. Its eyes lit up, as if awakening from a long slumber, and gazed down upon them. The voice continued sharply. "This better be good, I'm making a breakthrough here! I'm 99 percent finished with this thing!"

"She's alive, dood!" One of the penguins proclaimed. "The girl that wiped out Zegnant is actually alive!"

"WHAT?!" The golem's head split open. From what appeared to be the cockpit, out emerged a lanky but somewhat imposing demon, eyes shaded by steampunk-styled shades. Unlike most demons' elf-like ears, he had a more bat-like appearance. He had a handlebar mustache that quivered with shock as he continued, "I thought you told me she was  _dead_!"

"We thought so too, dood!" The other quickly leapt to their defense. "Who the hell would actually survive their own kamikaze attack?! But apparently she's alive and kickin', dood!"

"Grrrgh!" The demon known as Lunzard leered down at them. "Do you know what this means?! She's the legitimate Overlord, so all my plans for establishing my dominance have gone kaput!" The prinnies panicked from his furor, but the demonic mechanic ignored this. "But I can look on the bright side! Now I can test my latest and greatest creation on that brat. She's only recently shed her humanity, so she should still be wet behind the ears!"

"Whoa... good thinking dood!" One of the prinnies stopped panicking and nodded.

"Hmph! I'm not a mechanical genius for nothing!" Lunzard declared as he descended back into the cockpit of his metal machine. However, upon resting in the shadowed insides, his mind churned. _To think that girl not only survived her own power, but the cruelty of Abyssus Crucio... her mental state must truly be a wasteland of horrors! I_ won't  _stand for this._  "GO!" He bellowed, and the monstrous machine came to life...

* * *

Having finally shown herself to the outside world, the girl wished she could at least have her old sense of fashion back. But alas, her penguin helpers only managed to secure a single, pale and flowery kimono—one that didn't even go past her knees. To make up for  _that_ , she had to compensate with knee-high stockings. Well, at least the near-platform sandals were still traditional. That, and the objectifying outfit she found herself in felt—surprisingly comfortable. Maybe a little too comfortable. Was this part of being a demon?

It might be why she felt no actual chill in the air—as she gazed upon the forlorn land that supposedly belonged to her the only thing she thought to ask was, "So this is... Gehenna?" From her vantage point on the castle rooftops, Gehenna looked like a spiraling crystal wasteland, sitting at the eye of a hurricane. This place was almost a complete opposite to Mahora's pristine lands. What would've been a lively kingdom with life back at home was but an empty shell here. "Looks so lifeless."

"Previous Overlord was way too concerned with castle upkeep and making everyone else miserable, dood," One of the prinnies said as he served her breakfast, trying his damndest not to slip on the rooftop. Konoka smiled a bit before digging into the simple bagels. They certainly tasted like heaven, but then again she had no reason to be picky at all.

"Yeah, dood!" The prinny added. "The guy had whole hell of a lot of torture chambers, where he often terrorized massive crowds at once!" The prinny shivered. "Listening to him trying to concoct that 'Symphony of Screams' gives me the chills just thinking about it, dood!"

Konoka shivered, hugging herself. "How did so many people put up with that kind of thing?"

"Like his evil or not, he had massive charisma, dood," one prinny answered. "The strongest of demons would often gather at this place to learn his new spells."

"..." Konoka stayed silent, then gazed out into the land again. "Is the rest of the Netherworld like this?" The former Konoe princess asked.

"Nope!" One of the prinnies answered. "There's all sorts of lands. Lava crags, dangerous deserts, some brutal beaches, even some calmer plains! It's like the human world in some aspects, dood! They sky gets a lot freakier at night, but other than that, not too much you haven't seen, dood."

"I meant are most demons like that other overlord," Konoka corrected, but alas, that train of thought was ruined—she bit into her bagel again. "Wow, this is pretty good, you know!" While happy on the outside, she cursed her hunger for getting in the way of figuring out this nightmare land.

The prinnies exchanged looks. "Totally unreal, dood."

"Maybe she's gonna be a good one, dood!" The other smiled.

Konoka merely regarded them with curiosity. "You guys are pretty strange and silly for servants. Are all prinnies like this?"

"For the most part, dood. We were once human, often remorseless criminals, so we get sealed up in these things," The prinny tapped his chest. "...and made to serve stronger demons until we get our chance at redemption."

"Redemption, huh?" Konoka tapped her chin, easily slipping back into deep consternation—this seemed to be happening a lot more lately, and she wasn't even studying for any tests. "The Netherworld seems more complicated than I thought..."

"Don't worry, you'll learn everything in time, dood!" The prinny reassured her.

She continued to eat in silence. She was even kind enough to offer them some of her share, but they insisted they'd get their own food later.

Suddenly, a loud crash shot from below them, shaking their footing. "Eep!" Konoka accidentally tossed her plate in fright.

One of the prinnies narrowly dodged the fallen dish. "Watch the china, dood! Do you  _want_  us to explode?!"

"What was that?!" Konoka asked, shoving his confusing comment about exploding to the back of her mind for now.

"Beats me, dood, but that can't be good!" The other prinny shouted in alarm.

"In that case, we've got no choice but to check it out, right away!" She slid down from her perch, and like the wind, sprinted back into the castle, the prinnies scrambling to keep up.

* * *

Konoka tore through the weaving hallways, sprinting as fast as her legs would carry her.

"Umm, dood?" One of the prinnies asked. "You got wings, dood. Did you forget that you can, I dunno, FLY?!"

"Well excuuuuuse me for only knowing about my demonhood for all of two hours!" Konoka shot back, her face contorted with more worry than anger. "Besides, as unsteady as I would be in the air, I'd crash too much!"

"That's a good point, dood."

Konoka appeared at a grand foyer, and that's when something crashed into it from the other side of the room. The girl skidded to a stop as she saw some hulking thing lumber into the room.

A massive golem, looking a bit closer to a demented knight with a fat chest, looked down at the girl. "Ah... you. The girl who changed everything. But not for long, that is!" The golem pulled an unfairly large axe from its back. "I was supposed to be the next in line, but you just had to go and survive!"

"Dood! Sir Lunzard?!" One of Konoka's prinnies pointed in fear.

"Who's he?" Konoka asked, her mouth hung open in shock.

"He was the number two to the previous overlord!" The other prinny explained. "A sheer mechanical genius, dood!"

The girl bit her thumb, her tail twitching anxiously. Something in her mind began to click, but... "Wait a second..." Konoka pointed a finger at the golem. "Are you the reason I'm here?! The reason I'm like this?"

"I had nothing to do with you, and would rather not have anything to do with you..." The demon in the golem answered back.  _You're... more sane than I thought. Still, that title belongs to me. I won't have someone so pitiful put Gehenna back on the map!_  "So. Die quietly and it won't hurt... much."

"No thank you!" Konoka saw the massive golem lift its ax and scrambled backwards to avoid the weapon as it crashed into the ground, splitting the earth where it rested. "Eep! It's so strong..."

"No kidding, dood!" A prinny agreed.

"Let me crush you!" Lunzard bellowed. The golem began to lumber towards the girl, its every step nearly shaking the floor. Having no grasp on her powers as a demon, if she even had any, the girl was largely forced to flee.

"Sad that an Overlord is running from a small demon in a big machine," Lunzard mocked from the safety of his cockpit. "But then again, people stronger than you have fallen to my genius!"

"I..." Konoka looked back just in time to see the massive golem start swinging the axe across. She turned tail again, but this time around her actual tail whipped around her as well. "...didn't ask for this power!" The axe crashed against her tail. That's right—to her amazement, her tail actually stopped the huge weapon. "My tail..."

"Whether or not you asked for this power, it's yours to keep," Lunzard responded, hiding his surprise from her counter well. "Unless that is, you don't want to li—wait what?!"

Scampering from under Konoka, the two prinnies by her side made a sharp jump, brandishing two short swords. "Eat it, dood!" One shouted. They slashed their swords rapidly, and crescent-moon-shaped energy blasts crashed into the head of the golem. It swayed, electric sparks falling from the machine.

"Get it together, dood!" The other prinny shouted.

"You little—!" Lunzard snarled. The golem reared a hand back, and with massive force, slammed the ground. One prinny was caught by the mighty hand, squashed flat by its force... "How do ya like  _that_?!"

...right before it exploded.

"Dood!" The surviving prinny began to sweat buckets much like a human would piss his or her pants.

Konoka looked on in sheer horror. "...wh... why...?!"

"I told you... sit still and maybe it won't hurt when I kill you!" Lunzard bellowed again. The golem reared back again, aiming its fist on Konoka.

The former Konoe heir found herself awash with a nigh foreign emotion—anger. It wasn't the fact that she never felt it before, but she had never felt it with such strength—or irrationality. Or at least, as far as she can remember. Why does he want her dead? Why is this man so ruthless? Why is she here? Why can't she  _remember_?! Why why why WHY  _WHY_ —

-BAM- The hand slammed the earth. "Suspiciously easy..." Lunzard remarked wearily.

"Dood?!" That same surviving prinny looked up.

"Wha..." The golem's line of sight looked where he smashed down. There was just the faintest trail of smoke rising between the fingers, as if someone had recently jumped... He looked up.

Not even a second later, something crashed into his head. Hard.

"No way!" Lunzard panicked, as Konoka had landed perfectly on the cranium, and was now attempting to stab through it with her tail. He resolved this by using both golem hands and clapping them together, forcing the girl to retreat. "Not bad, girly. There's strength in you after all." He aimed a fist. "But are ya fast enough to dodge THIS?!" The fist launched like a rocket. It soared towards Konoka with unbelievable speed.

That didn't even matter, since the girl simply blocked it with one hand. With the ease of someone tossing away a crumpled piece of paper, Konoka tossed away that fist. As everyone living stared in open-mouthed shock, the girl took the time to bolt straight for the machine again.

"Th-th- _that's not even fair_!" Lunzard objected to the shounen lunacy Konoka just displayed. Alas, before he could pull off any other move, Konoka had easily landed on the golem's face, and with both hands, ripped the thing apart, exposing the mad demon scientist. Seeing the massive pile of figurative crap he was in, Lunzard began to speak quickly. "H-hey, we can talk about this, can't we? HHGGGK!"

Konoka grabbed him by the neck and lifted him out of the machine. Lunzard found himself eye to eye with the purest of fury—her blood vessels had bulged from her face, and they were  _white_. "That prinny died trying to knock some sense into you! So tell me one reason why I shouldn't  _rip you to shreds_ _ **right now**_." Her voice was surprisingly low and cold.

"..." Lunzard strangely lost all will to fight. "Despite my evil and genius, I'd rather die than serve another overlord like our last one."

The seething hatred in Konoka's soul evaporated as quickly as it gathered, as did the malformed rage and blood vessels, and she dropped the scientist.

"OW!" Lunzard hit his chair pretty roughly. "Dammit!"

"What... came over me?" Konoka asked softly. "If I'm like this... if I'm anywhere near the demon the other overlord was... I can't go home like this. I can never go home."

Lunzard dusted himself off and stood up. "In all honesty, you can't reach him, so don't even try. Zegnant was a man who enjoyed spreading pain and suffering like none other. I too had those delusions... but even I had my limits. The things he did to humans..."

"What  _did_  he do to them?" Konoka asked.

"Complete destruction of all they held dear—in the real world AND in their minds!"

Konoka's eyes widened. "He was that cruel?!"

"Yes... and  _you_  were going to be his centerpiece. For you to have survived what he did to you..."

"What did he do to  _me_?" The girl tried to remember. Memories of her past adventures in Munda Magica, falling, a swan swathed in darkness, pain...

No, the pain was too great. Very bad territory for today! "...on second thought, I'd rather not think about that right now. I'll say he's a bastard who took my memories and turned me into a demon for now."

"Hmph. I'll just say that you better improve your mental strength if you want your memories back," Lunzard advised. "From our battle alone I have reason to doubt your sanity... But enough about that. As the new overlord, what will you do?"

Konoka immediately began to think. Most likely her mind was burned from a great and tragic nightmare. She had wings, horns, and a tail. Her temper was short, and she was, with certain proof, a demon... a monster.

Geez, this was  _way_  too depressing!  _Screw that thought!_  If she could not escape this reality, she would adapt and make it her own!

Taking a heavy breath, she finally said to the demon, "I accept my duty as the Overlord..."

"Bold words, girlie," Lunzard sneered. "But can you back the—"

"... but that doesn't mean that I'm going to do things the way other Overlords do them!" The new ruler bellowed. "I'll do things my way! I'll cast aside this dark and dreary underworld... So I'm going to  _brighten it up_!"

" _What._ " Lunzard said that word one too many times, but when it seemed to be the most appropriate response to Konoka, he couldn't help it.

"I will make this castle... no,  _all of Gehenna_  a bright and happy place!" Konoka cheered. "After all, nobody expects evil in a beautiful land! That makes all the evil stuff that much more disturbing, yes?"

Lunzard actually had to think about this one—and he couldn't even see any flaws in her method of thinking! At least, not off hand. But he wasn't going to let  _her_  know that. "Wooo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo! You're an interesting one, Konoka Konoe!" He pulled of a dramatic point that would make a certain ace attorney proud. "I'll spare your life for now. But the moment you screw up as overlord, I WILL BE THERE... to collect the rent and kick your ass." He hopped back into his machine. "COUNT ON IT!" And with that, Lunzard took what was still functioning of his golem and lumbered back down into the depths of the castle basement.

As soon as he was gone, Konoka's smile faded. She gave a forlorn look at the squashed prinny. "I'm sorry..."

So she jumped when the flat prinny turned out to actually still be moving, giving her a tiny thumbs up when she looked at it. "Eh?!"

"We reincarnate quick, dood!" It explained.

"Yep," The other prinny walked in, shaking his partner back to his normal dimensions. "and we're like the ultimate expendable unit, dood."

" _Don't tell her that_ , dood!"

Konoka giggled, pursing her hands together as the prinnies bickered. When the noise died down, an idea kicked in. "Hey prinnies?"

"Yeah, dood?" came the response.

"Why don't you come with me, back to the rooftop? There's something I want to do..."

* * *

There was no long procession, no crazy fanfares, just Konoka walking on the rooftops with a pack of Prinnies waiting just below. "So I'll consider this my private little coronation. I'll make this place just a little bit brighter." She let her wings out, stretching them to their full wingspan. "It won't be just my rebirth as Overlord... Gehenna itself will be reborn, too!"

And that power, that holy magic power, she let it shine. I mean, what else could she do with it?

Apparently it was enough for the swirling clouds to part over the castle. Something like the sun shined down on the castle, bathing it with light.

"Dood! You could make lesser demons melt with that!" One prinny pointed out.

"Well, if demons can't handle a little sunlight, how are they gonna compared to the youkai back at home? I remember a vampire who laughs in the face of daylight..." Konoka admonished. Funny how she could recall the diminutive yet powerful vampire mage with clarity, and yet there was still one person she cared about. One person she could not recall.

She sadly rubbed her white wings—they seemed to be the only clue.

The prinnies all exchanged looks. "This is gonna be one looooong Overlording period, dood!" One prinny groaned.

Congratulations! You don't even know the half of it...

* * *

Elsewhere, in this expansive netherworld, there was a school.

This school could probably dwarf Mahora in both size and sheer wonder. It was a school founded eons ago, endlessly expanding its grounds as more and more young demons joined its ranks, learning the ways of petty evil, flashy villainy and general mischief. The school bathed itself in permanent moonlight—fitting, so as to keep its most ruthless students at maximum powers at all times.

This place was known as the Nether Institute, or Evil Academy.

Sitting at the center was the dean's tower, and inside those quarters, was the dean himself, his nose buried in a book. A young-looking demon swathed in a black shirt, white pants, and a red petticoat worn like a cape, he had stark white hair, glasses, and pale skin—an ultimate badass nerd, if you will. Having only recently inherited the position since last year, the young demon man was still suffering the growing pains of the school—the paper work was annoying (so he delegated it to prinnies), there were always troublemakers (so he had to go out and personally kick their asses, since some of his servants weren't around), and nothing really exciting seemed to happen lately. Even the number of delicious experiment possibilities were waning! Things were becoming... dare I say it?  _Boring_.

But you know what they say about idle hands. And considering the  _entire school_  is a devil's workshop...

"Oi, Mao!" Alas, somebody interrupted his non-angsty brooding.

The man known as Mao already knew who that was. "What do you want, Beryl?" He looked up.

The female demon that greeted his eyes was a short, cute thing with pink hair and black horns—matching well with a gothic black school outfit. Her short and thick pink tail flicked as she regarded him with her usual naughty grin. "Some interesting rumors have been cropping up amongst some of the more traveled students."

"So? Why do I care?" He glared back through red eyes. He folded his fingers and rested his chin. This had  _better_  be good.

"Because, rumor has it that there's a new Overlord in town," This girl, Raspberyl (that would be her full name) answered. "You've heard of Gehenna? That place was once lorded over by a complete lunatic, and only the most unsavory of honor students dare step foot there. But I hear that this new Overlord is a badass to the extreme!" Raspberyl's eyes shined like a lovestruck fangirl.

"Badass, huh?" Mao was most definitely  _not_  interested at this point. Badasses, by Raspberyl's definition, were largely demons brave enough to embrace their hidden goody-two-shoes side. That wouldn't do anything for him, dean of the school and model man for all evil! But Raspberyl, despite her obnoxious love for the good side, was a trusted vassal, "friendship" concept be damned. If she wanted to investigate this new overlord, who was he to stop her?

"Yep!" Raspberyl crowed, continuing on. "Whoever this Overlord was somehow managed to pull off the angel look. Not even fallen angel, but  _pure angel_! That's an even rarer spawn! And supposedly the castle is already bathed in pure white, too."

"White?! Ewww! Talk about a lack of taste!" Mao complained. However, when he considered everything else, he continued, thinking out loud. "But if that angel thing is true... I've always wanted to experiment on somebody from Celestia. There is that Flonne girl, but that damn Laharl keeps getting in my way..." The thought of experimenting on a new Overlord filled him with glee. So much in fact, he began drooling.

Raspberyl had to point this out to him.

"Oh, er, yesssss. Anyway take your cronies and go visit this Overlord," Mao concluded, making a shooing motion. "I think I'll go back to finding some more things to  _experiment_  on... Hurry up about it, before I change my mind and go myself!"

The more impish demon giggled. "Fine by me! Even if you said 'no' I would've gone anyway!"

"Don't  _tempt me_ , Beryl!" Mao jabbed his finger to the sky as he stomped off to his secret lab.

As he disappeared, Raspberyl just laughed. "So easy to mess with. If he weren't so thick, he'd even make a fine... significant other, I'd say, if that encyclopedia I read yesterday was right." With that, she skipped off on her own.

* * *

"Haaaaahahahahahaha!" Boisterous laughter flooded the hall of the grand throne room. Of course, this was absolutely nothing new to any of the residents of this castle, situated deep within the Netherworld. Their reigning Overlord did this all the time. However, this time actually had something of a reason to it. "Finally! I'm back home after all that time!"

You see, this young-looking demon, a man bold enough to only wear pants, shoes, and a massive red scarf, was one of the most powerful Overlords around, and with his strange blue antenna-like hair, one of the most recognized throughout the Netherworld. As a matter of fact, he was so famous that it was all too easy for him to get swarmed at that dangerous demon academy, the Nether Institute. So after a  _year_  of that annoying school, it was nice to be home.

So agreed one of his vassals. "It is pretty nice to be back home again~," She was a fair-looking blond lass dressed in white—if you ignored the swishing spade-like red tail, broken red headband, and tiny bat wings. Then again, she  _was_  a fallen angel. "But I rather liked that school. It was fun teaching about the wonders of love~."

"Can it, Love Freak!" The presiding Overlord snarled. "Don't remind me..."

"Laharl!" said Love Freak protested.

"Tch, we came back way too early in my opinion," This last vassal bore the appearance of "demon" far more than her compatriots did. Skimpy, dominatrix-like clothing, red hair done in pigtails with a spice of spiky death, and a dark red tail completed her look. "It was way too fun extorting all those lower demons out of all of their HL."

"That wasn't nice, Etna," the fallen angel admonished.

"You should remind me to give a damn much  _earlier_ , Flonne," this Etna laughed. "Making more than 25,000 HL in one day gets way too... tempting after a while."

"Screw that!" Laharl bellowed, cutting off the conversation between both girls. Both Etna and Flonne looked in his direction as he glared, his grin gone. "Even though we're back here, there was something that was bugging me before we left. Have either of you heard of those rumors?"

"What rumors?" Flonne blinked.

"Oh, those rumors about a new overlord in town? Yeah, I heard them." Etna waved it off. No concern of hers... but then she remembered who she was talking to. "Oh, are you gonna go take on this Overlord in some 'I'm-eviler-than-you-challenge-pissing' contest?"

"What?!" Laharl shot back. "I'm not gonna let this  _nooblet_  for an overlord steal all my screen time! Especially if she's some weakling who uses the power of light!"

"Light?" The whole room stopped. Etna and Laharl turned to see Flonne, her face wide with wonder. "I thought that school already had an Overlord who could wield light?"

"True, but the rumors say it's somebody completely different," Etna murmured. "But I bet what's-her-name won't be too happy about sharing a reputation."

"Ooh!" Flonne clasped her hands, and her eyes lit up like a kid who just won a box of toys. "I want to see her then! Maybe she's nicer!"

"Uh huh, riiiiight."

"Hmph! I don't care!" Laharl proclaimed. "If she even thinks about walking on my territory or my screen time, I'm kicking her ass to next Wednesday!" He pumped a fist. "Count on it!"

"Have fun with that, Prince!" Etna taunted. "I think I'd rather just get back to seeing what's new with the weaponry around here! I hear they have a sale on Dracula's Pistols! See ya~," And with that, she sauntered off.

"In that case, I want to know more about this overlor—"Flonne began.

" _No, you can't_!" Laharl immediately decreed, jabbing a finger in her direction.

The fallen angel whimpered. "W-why not?!"

"There's already  _one_  Love Freak, and there's only supposed to be  _one_  Love Freak! Not zero or two or three!" Laharl ranted. "Why would I—" Then an idea struck Laharl. A wonderful, awful idea. His grin grew three sizes too big for most people to be confortable. "On second thought, I'll let you go investigate this overlord... on  _one condition_."

Flonne's eyes stopped watering with sadness, and shined with hope instead. She was definitely not sharp enough to see the two-bit scheme look in Laharl's face. "Yes?" Or maybe she just didn't care.

"I'll let you go as my emissary!" Laharl crowed. "If she accepts the power of love, she will love me as the main character!  _That_  way whoever this is doesn't take my screentime! Haaaaahahahahaha!" The overlord loved his own logic.

"Okay!" Flonne smiled.

"So, then go forward and— _wait what_." That didn't work out like he thought it would. Well it  _did_ , but this was way too easy... "You mean you don't mind?"

"Not at all!" Flonne cheered. "As the Angel of Love, I must spread joy and happiness, even if it benefits your jerk side!"

"Well that's true—" Laharl began, but somehow he managed to catch what sounded like an insult. "Hey wait a minute!"

"Thank you, Laharl!" Pleased, Flonne merrily skipped out of the throne room, the idea of meeting a possible fellow Love Freak filling her with glee.

"Flonne! Get back here!  _Flonne_!" The tiny tyrant raged, but alas, his words fell on deaf ears. Laharl sighed and pouted. "She'd better be good at...  _whatever_  she's doing..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (So ends the opening of this piece. I have to apologise for it starting so slow, but it's gotta start somewhere! In any case, a footnote!
> 
> Celestial: Put simply: angels. Celestia refers to the world in which they reside-an opposite world to the Netherworld.
> 
> So read, review, constructive criticism, etc. This chapter may or may not go under repairs, so keep an eye out! But thanks to Eternal Longing and Dark Dragon Dave for looking this over for me!)


	2. Chapter 1: Sweet Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Konoka begins her path to overlord-dom.

**Chapter 1: Sweet Plans**

And so, a few days passed.

Konoka didn't want to think about Mahora too hard—it'd make her horribly homesick. Instead, she reasoned, it was best that she figured out how the Netherworld worked, and what her new position entailed. After all, the further she extended her hand into the Netherworld, the easier it would be for her to make it a brighter and better place.

Question was, where could she start?

The Gehenna Queen flicked her white tail in mild annoyance—she found herself at a figurative impasse, and not a clue on the best way to cross it. The prinnies were helpful, but they lacked the experience and connections she would need. Giving a wistful sigh, she almost regretted not joining the Go club back at home, or at least paying more attention at Eva-chan's lessons. "This might be even harder than I thought, and I wasn't even expecting a cakewalk. But who could I turn to for something like this...?"

She longed for the simpler days back at Mahora, the ones she knew wouldn't come anymore.

Deciding that brooding would do no good, she leapt into the air and sailed into another part of the castle...

* * *

"Hmph! My inventions should be sound! They're sturdier and stronger! So how come I can't kill that Konoka brat?" Lunzard raged to the heavens. "Sure she's got the powers of light and a crazy streak that rivals Zegnant in a completely different fashion. She should still be easy prey!"

"Maybe she's just that good?" A prinny suggested.

"Or maybe you don't have it in you to kill her anymore?" Another one added.

Those, despite being the truth, were the exact things Lunzard didn't want to hear. "SILENCE!" He roared, pressing a button. From out of nowhere, two massive pistons crushed the prinnies, also making them explode. "I'm not taking any lip from either of you!" He went back to his architecture board and began penciling the plans on some yet-unnamed machine.

"What are you doing?" A voice popped up.

"Drafting my next machine, of course!" Lunzard replied without thinking, still hard at work on his next magnum opus. However, it took a moment for him to put two and two together, and recognizing that the voice was NOT a Prinny, he whirled to the side to see somebody vaguely unfamiliar eyeing him curiously. "Wh-what?" On instinct he pressed a button on his overcoat.

Lasers descended from the nigh invisible ceiling, firing at the intruder immediately. "Eep!" Lunzard heard and saw a shape shoot into the air with one massive leap, unfortunately avoiding a fate of burnt bacon.

However, upon landing down on top of one of his machines, Lunzard finally saw that it was merely the presiding Overlord. "YOU?!"

Konoka puffed her cheeks in anger from her crouching position atop a hulking suit of armor. "Yes, me! An Overlord should check on her subjects from time to time, right? But if you're gonna be a jerk like this..." Her tail flicked in annoyance.

"Don't you have manners? You're supposed to knock before entering!" The angry scientist complained.

"I did!" Konoka insisted petulantly. "And the prinnies answered!"

 _Note to self:_ _ **get new prinnies**_ , the demon man mentally hissed. He snarled to the new Overlord, "Next time my machines might be faster on the draw, so if you interrupt me again, I can't guarantee your safety."

"Fine! Be that way!" Konoka retorted, sticking out her tongue. "I'll just send all your funding to the Blue Hedgehog Foundation!"

"How did you know I hate that foundation?" The man exclaimed in surprise and fury. "And how do you even know about it?"

"Because you just told~ me~," Konoka wagged her finger.

The man shook from rage. This girl was outsmarting him? "Eugh! You little—it's not like you can actually FIND the funds, girlie!"

Konoka smiled and produced a small envelope. "Does this look like anything to you?"

"WHAT." The mustached demon was slowly finding himself even more stunned by this girl's actions. Where the hell did this even come from?

"I managed to dig around the castle for some interesting things, namely where you hide our monetary expenses. Shame you didn't keep it closer..." She waved it around. When she saw his hand move suspiciously, she suddenly stood up. "Uh-uh-uh! If you make any sudden movements, I can't guarantee the safety of this stuff~!"

Snarling, he slowly relented. Testing out his Torque Snatcher would have to wait another day. "What do you want?"

"A bit of guidance, and for you not to interfere with my wishes," The girl stated up front, her face serious. "That's all I really want from you."

"...those are shockingly low demands from you, girlie," Lunzard stated after a bit. "Although I will say that 'not interfering with your wishes' sounds somewhat suspicious. I suppose we have a deal, provided that you don't cut into my funding... in such a fashion that I notice."

"Fair enough," Konoka nodded.

"In any case, I'll give you something right off the bat: you know you're going to be attracting the attention of several other Overlords, considering that you're the new girl on the block. And if you're weak, they won't hesitate to pick on you. If I were you, I'd establish that you aren't to be messed with...  _immediately_. Preferably before they show up on your doorstep." Lunzard went back to his drafting. "The easiest thing for you to do is to start up an army."

"An army, huh..." Konoka began thinking.

"If you prove yourself competent, I  _might_  be able to build you some robots," Lunzard gave her a particularly menacing grin. "No evil Overlord should be without them, in my opinion."

"Hmmm... I guess as an evil Overlord, I'll take what could be useful," Konoka tapped her mouth with her finger. "Where should I start looking?"

"Ask the prinnies! PRINNIES!" Lunzard called.

There was a bit of scuttling before two of those strange penguins came dashing from the halls into the lab. "Sir Lunzard dood?"

"Take your master... shopping. FOR GENERICS! And don't come back without a dimensional guide, either!"

"Sir yes sir!" The prinnies saluted. Konoka had to hold back some giggles.

"Um... Sir Lunzard dood?"

"What is it?"

"What was with the delivery of that first line, dood?"

"I'm not in acting school!" Lunzard waved off his complaint. "Now  _get lost already_!" He slammed the ground, causing both Konoka and the prinnies to jump, and the latter to scurry away like panicked mice. Konoka however, was much calmer and simply sauntered off.

* * *

The sky was the limit—that is, if you can fly.

Luckily, Konoka could, albeit shakily. With her two guide prinnies tucked under her arms, the girl easily coasted past Gehenna's wastelands and into a nearby land. The sky was cool, and felt good on her feathers. Yet, that feeling was also familiar. Surely this was the first time she flied, so what was with this feeling...?

Alas, something bad happened—Konoka's stomach rumbled.

"I'm hungry..." The angelic demoness lamented.

"Dood, don't worry!" One prinny tried to console her. "The casino is just a bit further ahead! You can get something to eat there!"

"But why a casino?" Konoka asked. "I-I mean, why should I go to a casino to recruit people?"

"It's a surprisingly a good place, dood!" The other prinny answered. "The casino's got a lot of activity going on, dood! You can like, post recruitment ads and stuff!"

"Hmmm..." Konoka pouted.

Fate decreed that the casino sucked, and it had a better idea. A powerful, sweet-smelling aroma reached Konoka's nose. And it smelled like... "Cake!" It was like life was breathed back into the demon girl.

"W-what?" The prinnies nearly thrashed in confusion. But sure enough, even they smelled the wonderful dessert. "Oh, that does smell good, dood!"

"W-wait a minute," One of the prinnies looked down at the distant earth below. Rolling black sand stared back, followed by the odd encampment of demons, with the majority of them being maroon-skinned pig-like soldiers. He shook fearfully and then looked further in the distance. There, in the middle of this strange desert-like area, stood a massive castle, surrounded by decaying hands reaching for its pinnacle. "This is..."

"Whoa, dood! Turn back! Turn BAAAAAACK!" The other screamed.

"No way!" Konoka cheered happily, completely uncaring about the possibility of the castle ahead being a death trap. "That food smells like heaven, and I'm definitely getting some."

"Y-y-you don't understand! This is Sweet Castle!  _They're going to eat us_!" The prinnies chorused as if their lives depended on it.

Konoka puffed her cheeks angrily. "All the more reason to go in! I won't let them eat prinnies if they make cake this good without them! Onward~!" With a bit of effort on her part, she flapped her wings hard and nearly nosedived towards the castle, giggling madly on the way.

"DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!" The prinnies cried as they were dragged to their supposed doom.

* * *

"All right, all right! Is everyone here yet?" A hulking gray demon, boar-like in appearance, smacked a roll of papers. "Sir Sweet's gonna be closing the doors pretty soon." Unlike most of his peers, his voice was smooth, so without even needing to repeat himself or answer to jeers about pigs, he already managed to quiet down the chitchat. Yeah, this boar was that badass.

He stood opposite of a slew of various humanoid demons. Unlike the pigs outside, they had a larger variety of talents between them. There were several sword wielders, a few magicians wielding staffs (hey wait, is one of those mages carrying an AXE?), a few hulking monster-like demons in all sorts of dark colors, and there was even one childish boy who looked no older than ten, yet he was bearing a sharp spear twice his size.

The huge boar smirked. He recognized quite a few of these people—they had been here before. A few years ago, there was a massive squabble over a legendary delicatessen known as the Ultra Dessert. A squad of prinnies, of all things, managed to actually successfully build the rare dessert—that was, until Sir Sweet, the legendary Overlord of Sweets, stole it in a ploy to lure them into a trap. When word got out that he managed to pull this off, a good number of the people here waged war in this very castle—himself, and even Sir Sweet included—only to get their collective asses handed to them by the prinnies. When he later learned that the normally weak Prinnies belonged to none other than the  _Demon Lord Etna_ , things made sense, so he let it slide. These other losers must be trying to get their reputation back up.

"This is  _it_! Turmeric of the Phoenix clan  _always climaxes at his victory_!" A brazen man crowed, waving his sword like a circus freak. Yep, definitely reputation seekers. "I'll show the world that I mean business, by way of passion! Damn those prinnies and their  _passion thievery_!"

This comment got stares from all the nearby demons.

" _What_?"

There was an arrogant flap of wings "Get lost, you half-hero asswipe," a sneering demon showing off his imposing wingspan sneered. "True demons have no need for the likes of you." His vile goat face was already in a perpetual sneer, so making a harder one almost took no effort.

"Yeah," A second demon, far more human in appearance, but with added massive girth, also commented. "We don't need your type!"

Turmeric easily whirled around. "Ha! Like I need any insults from  _compensation types_!"  
"I don't think you can back up your insult, chump." The first arrogant demon rose, apparently ready to challenge this lowly hero type. He snarled menacingly to accentuate his point. The fat demon quickly stuffed a donut into his mouth before rising with his friend.

By now, most of the onlookers were looking on with varying degrees of interest, but most of all was a hulking green monstrosity, sitting alone towards the back. It too was an anomaly among demons—unlike the pure monster demons like the snide winged monster or the more-human-like Turmeric, it was somewhere in between. It calmly began to gnaw on its cigar, regarding the brewing fight with vacant eyes. That was, until—

"Sir! Sir Morgan!" A maroon pig soldier snorted in, dashing towards the gray boar demon. And like a incompetent intern in a science lab accidentally activating a giant magnet for attention, all eyes fell on it.

"Yeah?" Morgan, apparently their leader, answered.

"Intruders! We have intruders! Possibly a Celestial!" The pig bellowed. "We're trying to take them down, but their leader is too swift and powerful!"

"A Celestial?" Morgan blinked. "Those don't come around here that often. Probably some butthurt Celestial trying to achieve Fallen status. Where is she headed?"

" _She's aiming straight for Sir Sweet's kitchen!_ " The pig reported desperately.

 _Shit_. This could end badly, especially with the Moab army's varying competency. "Dammit... If she gets there—" And suddenly, an idea struck his mind like a surprise ninja attack. "Oh, I've got it. Hey, losers over there."

"I won't say it again, trash... get lost," The vicious winged-goat demon leered down at Tumeric, also curling his wings menacingly for added effect. The brazen warrior stared right back, not intimidated in the slightest. However, Morgan's call for attention stopped him, and he, along with most everyone else, turned to the huge boar. "What do you want, Morgan?" He snapped. He hoped actually working for Sir Sweet didn't involve so much crappy waiting and middlemen. He'd kick Morgan's ass too as soon as he's not looking!

"We've got an intruder we have to deal with, and I hear she's too fast for my squad. First person to bring her to me in one piece, alive or dead, gets in." Morgan sneered, waiting for the expected reaction.

Without hesitation, nearly all of them scrambled out the room, cries of bloodthirst (or what sounded like it, at least) filling the air. The boar laughed—hired hands were all too easy to manipulate. But of course, he wasn't about to be left out of the fun—he hopped up a tall pillar before walking through a secret passageway, not knowing (or caring) that he wasn't even the first to take it.

* * *

"Yay~!" Konoka merrily skipped through the halls, completely ignoring any Moab that wasn't directly attacking her. She was following her nose towards that delicious cake much like a colorful toucan would follow the smell of cereal.

Her prinnies, on the other hand, had their hands full, slicing at any Moab that dare approach their overlord with hostile intent. One shouted backwards, "Umm, Master Konoka, dood? Could you slow down a bit? We're fighting for our lives here!" Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed one maroon pig charging towards him with a trident. "Eep!" He jumped away, narrowly evading explodey death by a hair.

"Err... sorry!" She noticed the plight of her soldiers. With a speed she nearly surprised herself with, she scooped up her two prinnies as a few Moabs geared up for an attack.

"CHARGE!" One of the Moab commanders shouted. And thus, five little piggies dashed forward with tridents to defeat an overlord.

Konoka was far too fast for that. She deftly spun around, and her white tail smashed into four of them at once. Four little piggies got sent into the stratosphere.

The commander, horrified at the thorough owning of his troops with just one attack, lost his resolve. "Whoooa-ho- _hold ooooon_!" He tried to skid to a stop, but the Gehenna Queen's tail was already snaking towards him, smashing him into the sky as well. That was definitely one little piggy that went "Wee wee wee wee!" all the way home.

Any Moab dumb (or in this case smart) enough not to attack merely stared in awe.

Seeing as they were intimidated enough, Konoka let go of her prinny servants and happily skipped to the source of the delightful smell.

At last... she arrived at what appeared to be a giant kitchen. Konoka was reminded heavily of a more lavish and homely version of those kitchens she might see in the back of a restaurant. There all sorts of cooking utensils hung upon the wall. The stove itself looked massive, ornate, and somewhat creepy. Perhaps this is what hell's kitchen would be like if someone from heaven gave it a makeover. Konoka deeply considered consulting the overlord of this castle for some design pointers for her own castle.

The Gehenna queen sniffed around, looking for what would hopefully not be a lie... or a trap.

The Prinnies also scanned their surroundings. Aside from one unassuming cook barely visible from the kitchen, nobody was around. "Think it's all clear, dood!"

"Okay!" Konoka headed towards the kitchen, but...

"STOP RIGHT  _THERE_ , CRIMINAL SCUM!"

Konoka froze as if she had been caught with her hands in the cookie jar.

She turned to see a demonic youth in red pants blaze right in, his finger pointed brazenly in her direction. "I, Turmeric of the Phoenix Clan, shall serve  _justice platter_  today!" He skidded to a stop. "As soon as I beat  _you_ , Sir Sweet—GRAUUU!"

With a perfect flying kick, that brute goat-like demon sent him flying into the wall. Sneering, the demon landed, letting his wings flap. "Why hello there, intruder. Shame you're such a pretty face, otherwise wiping the floor with you would be too easy!"

"Ooh, ooh!" Mr. Fatso demon fluttered in on tiny wings, looking over at Konoka's direction. "She's pretty? Maaaan I'd tap that ass!"

Konoka just stared.

The prinnies shrugged. "What jerks, dood!" One said.

"I'm first in line, now!" The massive goat demon crowed. "I'll crush you!" He aimed a fist.

Konoka decided that the prinnies were right, this guy really was a jerk! "If you really want to crush me..." The boastful goat demon crashed a fist... where Konoka was half a second ago. "You should wait your turn!" Oh snap, that voice came from  _above_! By the time he decided to look up, Konoka's feet had already sailed in and smashed his skull to the ground.

Fatso stared in shock, seeing his friend go down in one hit, before snarling. "Why you...!"

He... began inhaling rapidly, like a demented vacuum cleaner on the fritz. Not even Konoka could resist his power. But well, she didn't need to. With an exasperated huff, Konoka twirled and swatted his face in. And  _that_  little piggy crashed with the stock market.

Just as the dust settled down, a cat scampered from the background, dodging the fallen bodies of the demons around it before finally setting at a safe distance, where it eyed Konoka with a weary gaze.

Konoka, not noticing the cat, let out a heavy sigh. "Geez, so many people without manners." The irony of the situation was lost on her. Now that she was no longer cursed by constant attackers, she decided to check on the first hero that stopped by, largely out of pity. "Are you okay?" She stared at him curiously, leaning in slightly.

"I... have had  _better days_... but I'm  _still alive_!" Turmeric wobbled weakly.

"That's good," Konoka smiled. "Hold still. I'm gonna see if I can remember my healing abilities. Not sure if it's gonna work, though..."

" _Not sure_?" Turmeric whined from his pathetic state. "Don't make it  _worse_!"

The cat mewled in what sounded like amusement.

"Oh, but I think it's  _just_  punishment for trying to attack me in the first place!" Konoka gently chided. She extended her wings, letting them glisten with holy power. Luckily for the fallen man, the light was gentle, not judgment, and he felt his injuries melt away. As the brazen man calmly checked his improved health, the Gehenna Queen asked, "Feel better?"

" _Yes_!" He pumped his fist while an imaginary victory fanfare played.

"Whoa, so cool!" A young voice shot in. Konoka nearly jumped as a shape sailed over her and landed right in front. She saw a young boy with white hair, cloaked in a roughshod school outfit and a strange hat that looked more like a pair of shorts. "Massive holy power... you're an overlord, aren't you? Your title says so, anyway."

"My... title?" Konoka blinked.

"Yep!" The boy answered.

Konoka gazed at the demon boy. Somehow, her memories were bubbling up again.

" _Konoka-san, your cooking tastes great! You'd make a great wife one day!"_

That reminded her... oh, it reminded her of— "Oh Negi-kun!" The Gehenna Queen immediately smothered the poor boy with a powerful hug. "How I missed you!"

"Umm... my name is Lucas," The white-haired boy gave a muffled response between her breasts.

Realizing her mistake, she let him go. "Oh, I'm sorry!" She straightened him out much like a mother would her child. "It's just that you reminded me of someone I knew a long time ago..."

The spear boy, Lucas, simply chuckled after backing safely away. "You sure are different. Your title fits you." But on the inside, he found himself glowing—this woman before him was pleasant... worth sacrificing free sweets for.

Konoka checked her title—how, nobody outside of this story could ever figure it out. Indeed, Konoka's title read "Gehenna's Infant Overlord". "Infant?" Konoka huffed angrily. "I'm 18!"

"That's  _infancy_  in demon years, even if you're an ex-human!" Tumeric pointed out, somehow obtaining the logic skill during his previous level up.

"I guess you used to be human then. But still..." Lucas paced around Konoka, as if examining her. "I think your jumping skills are cool! I'm gonna perfect mine one day and put Spear-wielders back on the map!"

"Hmmm..." Konoka seemed to like the sudden friendly atmosphere, but... "It's true that I'm an Overlord. I'm actually looking for underlings that would help me out. But aren't you guys hired hands for the resident Overlord of this castle? Why are you not attacking me?"

"We're just being tested as hired hands, really," Lucas said.

"That's _right_!" Turmeric, filled with energy, leapt up and made an epic pose on the table. "As soon as I get my chance, I will  _claim revenge against Sir Sweet_ —GAAAUU!" Whoops, someone landed on him  _again_.

"Geez, you should be more subtle if you're going to stab someone in the back," Konoka looked to see Morgan, our favorite classy badass boar demon, had used Turmeric as a landing pad. As par the course for any antagonist who's signing himself up for a boss fight, Morgan dramatically flipped his cape before leering the girl. "So you're an overlord, huh? No wonder the other Moabs couldn't bring you down. You're still pretty weak though, or at least in theory." From his backside he procured a massive axe, twirling it around threateningly. "Looks like you other guys fail."

"That's just fine," Lucas hissed, grabbing his weapon and dropping to a fighting stance. "I'm switching sides, anyway."

"Obligatory boss fight already?" Konoka dropped her mouth in awe. "Are all of you this trigger happy?"

"Welcome to the Netherworld, dood!" Her two prinnies shrugged before pulling out their dual knives. "If you wanna reach the top, better grind like no tomorrow, dood!"

The cat scampered back to safety... for now.

"You too?" Morgan raised an eyebrow. "Still, I'd be a fool to come without backup!" He whistled, and within seconds, swarms of Moabs appeared, armed to the teeth with tridents and cheap guns. "I hope you're ready."

"Maaan..." Konoka realized just how much of a battle-happy warrior she  _wasn't_ —or at least she hadn't been. One thing she distinctly remembered now was that she healed a lot, and always needed to be protected.

Protected? But by who, her memories refused to say.

But still... whoever that was, that person was no longer here. Still, she still couldn't really say that she wanted to run away... no. She was powerful now, and with that physical power, this was an opportunity to test it. Was this new feeling a part of her demonhood?

"CHAAARRRGE!" A Moab yelled (for the  _second_  time), and several little piggies swarmed in with weapons poking (and a few firing).

Lucas didn't even bother. He leapt into the air, disappearing from their sight and nearly halting their fierce advance. Konoka's faithful prinnies, on the other hand, had no such jumping skills and only had dual swords to fend for themselves. "Dooood!" They complained as they twirled their swords to keep the numerous pigs at bay.

Meanwhile, Morgan galloped forward, raising his axe. Konoka squealed and flipped backwards, narrowly avoiding a free axe appendage. Without even losing stride, Morgan flowed into a second axe attack, missing Konoka by an inch again and slamming the ground with his might. "Not used to offense, are ya?"

"No!" Konoka answered shakily. "But...!" When Morgan pulled off a fast one with his axe, however, her tail deflected the attack, whipping forward with enough force to parry the blow. Following that up, she actually flipped, letting her tail crash into Morgan's snout and send him stumbling backwards.

Morgan quickly recovered... and laughed. Konoka tilted her head in confusion. "Man, if you weren't so skittish, you'd be a joke right now. Or rather, you'd be an easily killed joke. Like your prinnies."

Speaking of said prinnies, they were fighting the Moabs... and losing. Those spears outdistanced their swords, and the gunners kept interrupting their air barrages. "Can't keep this up, dood!" One cried, sponging a nasty spear attack to his side. One more hit like that, and...

"Why are you so mean?" Konoka finally whined to Morgan, and with that she leapt into the air...

...just as a spear crashed down on the waves of Moabs, killing a large amount of them instantly. Lucas fell just a moment later, quickly picking up his weapon again. "Haha, how's that?"

"You coulda came down  _faster_ , dood!" One of Konoka's prinnies complained.

"It's a work in progress! Gimme a break!" More endless Moab fodder dashed in, readying their weapons. "Aw, man!" And thusly, Lucas and the prinnies were back to taking out more weaklings.

Seeing that Konoka has adapted a similar move, Morgan merely gave the spear-toting Lucas a sideways glance. "Oh, I see why she inspires you, kid." And with that, he simply bounded into the air to meet her. The girl flinched in shock as he continued. "But... she just ain't good." He heaved his axe and chucked it at her, the weapon whirling like a buzzsaw. Konoka shrieked and twirled to dodge it. Easy counterattack time, right?

Nope. Konoka attacked with her tail,  _and missed_. The girl was forced to land, all the while Morgan was still floating. Wait, floating? And where's that axe—

 _Yikes_! Instinct kicked in as Konoka back-flipped from an attack from behind. The ax was moving on its own? The renegade weapon suddenly arced around a corner and began chasing her again! At once, the girl scrambled under the table, trying to slow down that psychotic weapon moving on its own. "Aiyaaaahhh!" She squealed.

"Never heard of telekinesis?" Morgan offered, still floating in the air. His fingers moved like snakes, suggesting that he was controlling something. "I can send that weapons anywhere I like without touching it! Cool, isn't it?"

"Not when I'm on the business end!" Konoka squealed. She ran again, tripped over a cat. Whirled to recover quickly so she wouldn't be axe jerky, and—

"You dare summon an AXE on an  _innocent cat_?" The cat was no more—instead, there was a very angry pink-haired girl in a long black dress. She had apparently deflected the renegade axe... with her own. "I was just fine watching on the sidelines, but NOOOO you just had to summon the  _friggin' axe_ , didn't you?"

"That wasn't me!" Konoka protested. Morgan landed down from the air, jerking his axe from the embedding it made on the floor. Konoka of course, frantically pointed her finger in his direction. "It was his fault!"

"Really?" Angry mage girl no longer sounded very angry at all.

"Yep... oh no, he's doing it again!"

"Let's just beat him to death then~!" The way-too-easily-convinced pink-haired demon lass put away her axe and whipped out her staff. Whirling it around a bit, she gathered magic power. A rune flashed into existence over her head, opening wider as Morgan and his telekinetic weapon flew in closer. Then she slammed the weapon down, and a powerful burst of purple energy shot through, knocking the axe away.

Morgan, however, was nowhere near the blast. Instead, he sailed from the air, slamming the ground. Magnificent and powerful ice stalagmites shot from the ground (making magic scientists everywhere cry from the impossibility), and managed to nick poor Konoka in the head. The other girl didn't get hit, but by now had reverted back into a cat and had scrambled for dear life.

The dizzy overlord staggered backwards as Morgan stomped forward. "You really are something. But it's gotta end here. Sir Sweet will lose it if anyone finds his new cook! So don't take this personal, huh?" With no regard to his previous statement, Morgan pulled out a massive chaingun. "Rrraauuggh!"

The cat became a girl again. "Oh no! Get out of the way!"

Konoka could not get the hell out of dodge like the mage could... With only enough cognition, she curled her wings to protect her body as several bullets flew towards her at a rate of two hundred per minute. Just as quickly as the assault had begun, Morgan's death machine ran out of bullets.

Konoka's body remained unscathed, which was good. Her wings, however were riddled with bullets, and that was bad. And it hurt, it truly hurt! Oh god that was worse! The pain, it hurts it hurts it hurts  _it hurts_ — "EEEEYYYAAAAUUUHGGGH!" Konoka let a blood-curdling scream, stopping everyone in the room.

"No way, is she—?" Morgan began.

Konoka pressed her hands to the ground, as if her upper body needed more support. The pain was getting to her... again? Dark memories of pain and taunting welled up, and it was too strong. Far too strong. She just wanted all of it to go away, clear out that darkness...

Her wings began to shimmer with light. The bullets locked inside began to fall freely, just like the endless shells Morgan launched earlier. The shimmering became more and more intense until bursts of chaotic light shot from her wings. All of them spun around like drunken flies on speed until they suddenly affixed themselves on Morgan, and crashed into him like the fist of an angry god. The power of the attack sent the boar demon crashing into the wall so strongly he made a wall crater.

For a moment, time stood still, as those who were still standing simply stared at the young queen.

"Dood?" A prinny ventured.

Then Konoka stood. Though shaky from the pain, the girl smiled. "I win! Now I can finally..." Her body betrayed her, and she sank to the ground. Lucas and her prinnies immediately dashed to her side to help her up.

"Miss? Are you okay?" Lucas asked the obvious question.

"...urk. I'm too hungry," Konoka moaned. "Where did my strength go?"

"Exhausting your magic like that..." The mage stepped back in, her face showing a combination of worry and pent up anger. "ARE YOU A MORON? Even the most powerful of demons can kill themselves if they don't manage magic properly!"

Konoka pouted.

"Lay off the yelling, Anise," Lucas pointed two fingers in her direction. "I think she's learned her lesson."

"Well," The girl known as Anise far-too-easily reverted back to a sweet voice. "I guess she's still alive, so you have a point."

" _I'm still alive too_!" Turmeric lifted a hand from the ground he was plastered in. "Don't  _I_  get any points?"

"Nope!" Both demon kids responded.

" _Arrrrggghhh_..."

Somehow, a gentle but powerful aroma brought them to silence. Konoka, sniffing it, rose up, and fought her body to move towards the source—wonderful cake. Fresh, warm chocolate-vanilla cake stood atop a counter. Konoka moved towards it slowly, almost not even recognizing the fact that the person who put it there was still standing right behind it until she reached out for it...

She stopped. For the first time, she wondered if she was recklessly taking something away from someone else. Even though she was supposed to be an evil Overlord (blowing up all the residents here was... surprisingly fun in a strange way. She'd have never thought about this as a human.), something about taking something that didn't belong to her, especially something like this delicious cake, proved to be something that even in her evilest state she could not do.

"Go on and take it, Konoe-san," A voice said. "It's what you came here for, I take it?"

"Really?" Konoka looked up to see the pleasant face of the cook. The brunette woman smiled gently at her. "Thank you!" And with that, she took a fork and had her first taste.

"This is good... truly good," The Holy Overlord was moved to tears. Not only was it good—it brought back memories of Mahora again. Back when she lived there, there was but one person who could surpass her cooking. That person was often seen with those crazy geniuses she remembered having to help Negi fight against last time they were together... For someone in the Netherworld to have this passion... no, she couldn't even bear to savor it alone! "Lucas-han, Anise-han! You should have some! You too, Turmeric-han!"

Both of the younger-looking demons raised their eyebrows. "Really?"

" _Free cake_?" No points for guessing who.

"Yeah, it's good!" Konoka cheered. "The taste, the texture, everything!"

The two demon children walked up to the sweet. This strange woman... wanted to share? Demons sharing? It wasn't impossible or unheard of, but for someone to be freely generous was a rare thing to see. They too, had a piece. "Whoa... really good!" Lucas added. "I see why Sir Sweet hired you now." Anise simply hummed her approval.

"Hired? I can't say I was given much choice in this employment," The cook tittered nervously, but easily gained back her cool. "Then again, I wasn't expecting to see Konoe-san here either."

"Huh?" Konoka blinked, peering at the woman. "How do you know my name?"

"It's been a long time, Konoe-san." That voice from the cook was something like a vague calling in the wind—so far away from her mind, yet so familiar. The dark brown, almost crimson hair, the pleasant face, the slightly pudgy body... Wait. Was this... No way! Her face was too thin! She was too tall!

But there was no denying it. The person in front of her was... "Wha... Satsuki Yotsuba-chan?"

It seemed that the universe was smaller than she thought.

* * *

With Etna doing her own thing (as usual) and Flonne already departed to go visit the new person on the block, Laharl was largely alone, minus his lower vassals and various prinnies running about.

And my  _god_ , why was it so goddamn  _boring_! Having a starring role should be more exciting! "Dammit, as a main character, I demand that something exciting happen in the next five minutes!"

Every vassal in the room at that time stared at Laharl.

Then they kept right on with their busywork.

Four minutes and fifty seconds passed. "I'm  _WAITING_!"

"So Prince, I thought main characters went out and, you know,  _did things_ ," A decaying zombie answered kindly to his angry rants. "Waiting for things to happen usually led to bad ends."

The small overlord began to think about that one. True, main characters always did go out and discover things... but usually that information somehow came to those characters, and they acted on them. Still, being ignorant would solve nothing. Laharl was a stubborn mofo, and proud of it. But he wasn't going to be an  _ignorant_  stubborn mofo! "Guess you've got a point, Zommie," Laharl murmured. "But I'm an  _overlord_  now."

"Glad to be of service, Prince," Zommie ignored this demand, because "Prince" was so awesome as to still be fitting. He went back to bobbing his head uselessly, unafraid of the fact that it could very well fall off if he kept it up.

So what type of information could he act on? As an overlord, he knew it was important to have scouts, planted politicians and informants of all kinds in and out of his land—it was a great safety measure to make sure nothing caught him by surprise. He never would've found that brutal overlord Baal in that school if it weren't for that. But lately, they haven't even been picking up on much interesting.

But... one thing did nag him.

If the rumors were correct, the new overlord Flonne was off to see was in fact, an ex-human. And lately, there have been a lot of ex-humans running around—that is, humans that directly become demons, rather than have their souls reincarnate. He even had a few in his ranks, like—

"Sire," A somewhat restrained and yet curt voice requested his attention. Laharl looked down to see a female scout giving him full attention. She looked suspiciously important. "There appears to be a link to the human world nearby here."

"Oh really?" Laharl sneered. "So why's that important, even though entryways to the human world are rare?"

"Ah, but lest we forget, there's not one but two human worlds connected to this one," The woman answered. "One is the ordinary world, the one where most holes like this lead to. The other, which is unprecedented for dimensional holes like this, lead to Mundus Magica."

"Mundus Magica?" Laharl scratched his head.

"A world where magic is freely wielded," This suspiciously important scout looked somewhat wistful. "Most demons migrate to the Netherworld from Mundus Vetus, but..."

"Well, then let's GO THERE!" Laharl boomed. "Nothing like seeing some new places to take over!"

"You won't succeed so easily..." The scout warned. Laharl could practically hear the  _I'd like to see you try_  from this woman's words, but he could tell she had enough restraint and class to not voice that out loud... it seemed like her current job may have been a demotion. He'd have to consider THAT when he got another chance later. "...the magic guard on many of these places is viciously strong. Even someone like you could be worn down by their sheer numbers and expertise."

"Huh, you act like I'd just march in there and act like I own the place," Laharl retorted. However, the knowing glances everyone shot him apparently meant he'd do exactly that if he could get away with it. "Damn, so maybe you all know me too well."

"You haven't changed a bit, Prince~" Etna, for all of her glory, waltzed back in. "Maybe you should rethink this 'recklessly taking over any place that's new' idea you might be fostering."

"Geh..." This was getting nowhere, and Laharl was not liking it. "Still, maybe something in that world might be bringing about all those ex-humans, like that new overlord. The more I know about that freak overlord before Flonne does, the better!"

"Awww, you miss Flonne already, Prince?" Etna taunted, seeing right through his reasoning.

"Dammit, don't read into that!" Laharl shot back. "Anyway, I'm going to that place to see it, whether you chumps like it or not! Who's with me?"

"Sire, I'll travel with you," This suspiciously important scout answered. "After all, I once called that place home."

* * *

Once again adjusting some small machine, the great dean of Evil Academy was hard at work, concocting some devilish device. The books made by the great Lunzard Torque had recently proliferated his school, and they turned out to be awesome for building and working with diabolical machinery. Furthermore, they were easy enough to create for a genius like himself.

Nevermind the fact that he had flubbed a few key parts several times. He wound that one screw a little too hard—oh look, he broke something again.

"Urrghghhg! DAMMIT!" Mao bellowed, slamming his fists in frustration. "I can't think straight!" Trying to keep calm, the overlord hissed before taking deep breaths. When he was no longer filled with intense rage, he tried to organize his thoughts. So that new overlord is prancing around, and Beryl is going out to go fangirl over her, so now he's free to create his Dual Death Laser, but Beryl might not come back to witness his awesome genius if that overlord's good, and...

Yeah, that might be the problem.

"What's the matter?" A fiery and yet collected voice rolled in. "You look like you just realized that you put too much spice in the curry!"

Mao turned around to see a tall man stride in. His red clothing suggested Chinese ancestry, though his shock of blond hair might have simply suggested he has a thing for simply appearing like fire. Striding calmly behind him was a young-looking demon with dark skin, contrasted by a purely white suit.

Mao ignored the younger demon for now. "Mr. Champloo! What are you doing here?"

"Checking up on you, of course!" Champloo returned a warm grin, not even bothered by Mao's dangerously dropping temper. "A good cook keeps a careful eye on everything! Boom!"

"Oh that's  _terrible_ , am I that incompetent?" Mao cleverly masked his happiness to see the legendary cook.

"This place is as good a kitchen as any, so I'd say not really," Champloo saw right through it, as most of Mao's closest vassals did.

"Anyway, I'm trying to make my new Dual Death Laser, and it's not working out! This should be easy, too, since I've built similar things for experimentation, but noooo! That damn Beryl keeps showing up in my mind! She's disappeared before, so why is she invading my mental space now?" Mao continued to rant in a mad scientist-like manner.

"Hmm? You're worried about Beryl?" Champloo asked, trying his hardest to keep the obvious grin from stretching his face.

"WHAT?  _NEVER_!" Mao screamed.

"So the dean's a male tsundere?" The new boy on the block asked, neon orange eyes alight with mirth and confusion. "Never thought I'd see that."

"You  _shut up_ ," Mao glared back at this newcomer that  _dare_  insult the dean of the school. "Who the hell are you, anyway? Mr. Champloo, did you bring him here?"

"My name is Cygnus," The demon swept a low bow. "And yes, Mr. Champloo brought me here."

"Indeed, I brought him here, since he's the ideal student to help with our current situation," Champloo explained. "He's something of an honor student, though he's been accused of delinquency as well... actually quite the blend of both you and Beryl, like a perfect smoothie! Boom!"

"Oh... I think I've heard of you," Mao rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Your cruelty to other demons who pick on the defenseless is legendary. And you seem to have a network of people who tell you news of the Netherworld."

"What can I say?" Cygnus crowed, giving a feral grin. "I don't like having competition or drowning in ignorance."

"So what about that time I saw you helping delinquents with their homework?" Champloo asked.

"What?" Cygnus roared, making Mao quirk his eyebrow. "I was obviously extorting them!"

"Or how about that time I saw you open the door for a girl?"

"She got in the way! Not that I like her..."

"Guess I'm not alone in that 'male tsundere' business, hmm?" Mao hid a devilish grin. Before the younger demon could object, he continued. "So you've heard of this new overlord, then?"

"O-of course," Cygnus answered. "As far as being an Overlord goes, she is most definitely a neophyte—she's not even 19. You'd think someone like that would be ineffective, even an infant, but considering her ability against one of her more powerful vassals, she may be stronger than she looks. And if my source is correct... her puny age is attributed to the fact that she is ex-human."

"Ex-human?" Mao gasped. "How could an ex-human get power that fast?"

"Bad luck..." Cygnus's smile—no, his face fell, as if recalling a terrible memory. "...and good fortune." He quickly composed himself. "Allow me to continue some research about this girl. If we look into her past as a human, we might find something interesting. Extra credit is always nice."

"Consider yourself hired, then!" Mao bellowed. "...but don't let Beryl find out. Gooo and find her human hometown and get me links there IMMEDIATELY!"

Cygnus grinned before shrouding himself in darkness and disappearing. Mao smirked. "Mwa ha ha ha! I'll know all about this new Overlord before Beryl even steps foot at her front door! How's that for not being worried?"

"Whatever helps you bring home the bacon!" Champloo smirked. However, his grin fell. "Beware of having too many cooks controlling the spices. This one seems to have his own agenda."

"I'm aware of that," Mao crossed his arms while looking at his confidant. "I just want to see how  _good_  he is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it... The real first chapter! Read, review, and if your interested, remember the Ala Iridia website!


	3. Chapter 2: Revenge is Sweet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Concludes the Sweet Castle arc. Konoka gains new minions. Meanwhile, Laharl encounters an enigmatic man...

"Satsuki-chan?!" Konoka couldn't believe it... here of all places, was a person she once knew. Why was she here? Did she know about Konoka's immediate past? She couldn't bear it. Maybe she wasn't the closest associate she had back at Mahora, but she was still happy she could see one. "Oh, Satsuki-chan!" Not even bothering to hold anything back, Konoka leapt over the counter and wrapped her arms around the not-so-pudgy-anymore cook. "To think I'd see you  _here_  of all places!"

"Konoe-san..." Satsuki gave a slight chuckle.

"You know her?" Lucas stared incredulously. Humans (and some very travel happy demons) often talked about their world being small, but this was bordering on ridiculous!

"Yeah, I do," Konoka answered. "She was a classmate of mine back when I was still human..."

The curious younger demons seized up the cook, and they received a kind yet weary stare in return. Satsuki, however, rolled right on, "To be honest, I'd never thought I'd see you again, either. The world believed you were dead."

"I... died?" Konoka blinked. Then she gazed at her tail. "Then again, I don't remember too much right before I went into the magic world, and..." Something stirred in her before her mind flashed a picture. A high pitched scream filled her thoughts, and the sound of death consumed her ears shortly thereafter. "...maybe I did die..."

"Sakurazaki-san went looking for you, too... have you not seen her?" Satsuki asked.

"Sakurazaki?" That name!  _That name_  was familiar and yet... "Sakurazaki, Sakurazaki,  _Sakurazaki_..." Konoka thought hard, but for some reason nothing would come up. Why?! This name sounded  _really damn important_.

"You... don't remember her?" Satsuki blinked. "You and... Setsuna-san were inseparable for a time."

"Setsuna..." The memories were slowly opening! She could grasp something tangible in her mind now. Aha! While she could not remember her face, she did remember the quiet, serious guard which moved from distant protector to dear friend. When she first discovered magic, she had also been kidnapped by a rebel mage—it was this woman who saved her, along with Negi and her pals. But if she's not here now, then...!

Once again, her mind betrayed her, but with greater effect. Not only did those fleeting thoughts leave, but now her own mind seemingly did not want to deal with the subject. "...only a few small trinkets are missing from my life, and I guess Setsuna was one of them... It hurts too much to think about. Can we talk about something else?" Konoka gave a sad smile.

Satsuki reeled back, as if she narrowly dodged stepping on a landmine. Who was this girl?!

The demons exchanged looks—even Turmeric showed some concern. "Hmmm... the past  _has not been favorable_  for those two, has it?" Even in a serious situation, Turmeric's voice still had random inflection.

"Sounds like it..." Lucas murmured.

"So how about you, then?" Anise turned her sugary sweet voice over to Satsuki. "You're Sir Sweet's new cook, but you're obviously human."

"My past?" Satsuki tapped herself. "Ah, I was with Konoe-san while she was human. Back on the human world, I had my life lined up, but... don't worry about me. I'm just an aspiring cook."

"Back when I was human, Satsuki-chan made lots of wonderful things!" Konoka wagged her tail in delight. "Like meat buns, curry, and western food, too!"

"I actually miss those days..." Konoka looked over at Satsuki just as the cook finished her sentence. "I think it's been almost a year since I've cooked anything other than sweets." Konoka noticed some sadness in that voice, and coming from Satsuki, it sounded foreign.

The girl stared intently at Satsuki. Was it just her, or were those eyes looking sort of... lifeless? "Satsuki-chan?"

"Oh! I'm sorry." Satsuki shook off those small morose feelings. "I'm fine, really."

Konoka stepped on the chair and peered real close to Satsuki's face. "No! You want to cook something non-sweet, don't you?"

Girl was caught like her hand was stuck in a cookie jar! "Well..." The girl actually showed signs of embarrassment. "...yes." The girl leaned in. "But don't let them know that. The Moabs have keen noses, they'd know if I were cooking something non-sweet in an instant. Trust me, I tried..." Satsuki sighed. Demons tended to become extremely pissy if you don't cater to their tastes, and she had the memories (and bruises) to prove it. She focused on the conversation again. "My cooking hand may not be as strong as it used to, either."

Konoka, somewhat satisfied, sat down. "So this... Sir Sweet I've been hearing about runs the castle right?"

" _I_  could have told you that!" Turmeric declared. "That  _cursed Sir Sweet_! That madman has known  _nothing but sweets_ , and worse yet he has put food predilection curses on a number of people... _including my mother_!  _I will stand for this no_ —"

Lucas beat Anise to the punch and smacked him with his spear. "No, no more speaking in italics for you today!"

Konoka, unperturbed by her cronies' antics, continued. "...and he has you cook nothing but sweets for him?"

"Yes," Satsuki nodded.

There was a moment of silence. When it ended, the Gehenna Queen had reached a decision. "That's it... I'm taking you home!" Konoka stated pridefully. "Satsuki-chan should be able to cook whatever she wants! In the meantime, I'm gonna have a talk with this nice Sir Sweet person somewhere—I'm an evil Overlord, after all!"

"Easier said than done, I think," Anise said, her voice no longer obnoxiously sugary but kind all the same. "Ms. Satsuki said it herself, those piggies are gonna come running the moment they notice her cooking something unsweet."

"Not to mention Sir Sweet himself," Lucas added.

Konoka began to think for a moment. "Somehow, I'll have to hold them off then, or at least long enough so Satsuki can complete her meal." She stood up and turned to the small band. "Would you guys help me? If you can keep the piggies at bay, I can get to Sir Sweet himself."

"Of course we will!" Lucas cheered, his eyes alight with happiness. "You're an awesome Overlord!"

"Alas, I wanted to work for the great prince," Anise lamented. "But since Lucas thinks you're the best thing since sliced Purgatory Buns, I guess I have to help too."

" _Any enemy of Sir Sweet is a friend of mine_!" Turmeric declared.

Konoka giggled and nodded. "Thank you!" She whirled over to Satsuki. "Have faith, Satsuki-chan! We'll save you from the doldrums of sugar!"

Satsuki felt something odd in her chest from those words. "Thank you." It was a strange and very... new feeling to have, but at least it was pleasant.

For the first time ever, as she watched Konoka spread those un-demon-like wings and fly off deeper into the castle, Satsuki Yotsuba felt hope.

* * *

There was a gentle and yet prideful humming echoing through the halls surrounding the master suite. They sung of a man who loved to do what he did for a living—bossing around various Moabs and concocting wonderful desserts to sell to the world.

This was the hall of none other than the overlord of the castle, Sir Sweet.

As Moabs go, he wasn't that much bigger than his average underling—Morgan topped him in that category. But he still kept an imposing presence, with huge tusks, darker maroon skin and swirling blue robes. Grasped within his hands was a scepter, with what appeared to be an ice cream cone stuck on the end. His fancy crown completed his look—fitting the role of the pampered king, however, was a choice of style and not attitude. He worked as hard as anyone else in the castle.

With his new cook, however, he could speed production with his works, and continue concocting a bigger variety of delicious delicatessens. Everything was going smoothly!

...a little  _too_  smoothly.

He knew something was up when he heard massive scrambling going on downstairs. Figuring that he'd rather not concoct something if his castle was in danger, he left his sweet suite and headed downstairs to his multicolored garden.

"Sir Sweet! Sir Sweet!" A Moab grunt scrambled over.

"You rang?" The Moab leader asked.

"It's bad! We've got an intruder!" The pig tried to warn him through tired breaths. "She trumped Morgan! She stole half of your potential bodyguards and beat up the rest!  _She's gonna take your cook_!"

"WHAAAAT?!" Sir Sweet stood at attention. "Who  _is_  this person, and why is she  _daring_  to take  **my**  cook?!"

"We don't know! She's some recently converted Overlord who looks almost like a Celestial! That's all we can pinpoint..."

"Hmm..." Sir Sweet's mind began to churn. If her goal was a thorough snatch and raid, she probably would've been just content in raiding his kitchen and valuables—not that it would do the thief any good. His most valuable recipes were written in an ancient language only he and his closest confidants could understand. On the other hand, if she was here to actually fight him for the cook, he needed only to wait. Most people assaulting his castle  _always_  gunned for him, believing him to be weaker than most overlords. That statement wasn't false, but most demons were too stupid to remember that strength wasn't the only thing that won battles.

Smiling, he fingered his staff and regarded his underling. "Nooo, let her play. As a good host I'll entertain our guest. Perhaps she'll be the first since Lady Etna's prinny squad to survive 'Death by Chocolate'!" And so, with a swirl of his cape, Sir Sweet trotted downstairs with a delusion of metrosexual grandeur.

* * *

Konoka kept her new mission close to her mind and heart, like hopefully her new recruits would—protect and avenge Satsuki Yotsuba with their lives.

She could beat Sir Sweet, sure. Probably. Maybe. But that would achieve nothing on its own. She was also averse to killing him, and yet she understood that snatching what he thought were his "things" would bring revenge on herself, her castle and her newfound friends. So how could she establish herself against this Sir Sweet?

She was so deep in these thoughts she hardly noticed as her tail plowed through numerous Moabs launching one last assault on her. Even as inexperienced as she was, these gunners were pretty sad if she could beat them while  _not even paying attention_ , irregardless of her power.

But it might just be predictability and the ridiculous power gap talking.

In any case, Konoka now found herself in an orange-tinted castle pinnacle, surrounded on all sides with many multi-colored sweets. The girl's mouth threatened to water from all the delicious sweets she saw... but she denied herself.  _No! I must focus! Satsuki-chan is counting on me!_  She glanced around, looking for some hint or clue of the lord of this castle...

"Oh ho~!" A voice rang out. "What a time to see such a young demon maiden!"

The Gehenna Queen saw some stout, robed boar demon waltz in from stage left. His crown, the glittery, important robes, his flamboyant voice... "Ah! It's the court jester!"

Sir Sweet tripped and crashed.

"You little—!" He recovered instantly, but he shook off his rage with relative ease. In retrospect, he found her ignorance quite funny. "Ah, you must be craving sweets so badly, you can't even think straight! You should come with me, sample some of my treats, and then we can do  _business_."

"Business, huh?" Konoka blinked. But nevertheless, she followed.

Sir Sweet showed her various treats, and the eager demoness sampled quite a few of them. "It's great, isn't it? I've finally been able to speed up production, so now I can start moving forward with creating new treats!"

"I see," Konoka answered. "You've had a recent cook to help you, right?" She questioned almost innocently.

"Hmmmm?" Sir Sweet turned his head to regard her. "And how would you know?"

"She is a wonderful cook," Konoka smiled, twirling about like a morose ballerina. "I would know, since I have tasted her cooking before. But... get this. I'm worried she may lose her heart."

Sir Sweet raised his eyebrow, as if the girl had already assumed final boss form. "What a curious thing to say. Are you sure you're not a Celestial?"

"I'm an overlord, just like you! Sure I kinda look like an angel with horns, but my morals are just as loose as yours!" The girl protested, her tail stiffening in indignation along with her cheeks. "But even so... Satsuki-chan can cook things other than sweets. I beseech you... let her go!"

"Nope!" Instant response from the Overlord of Sweets.

To be honest, Konoka didn't know what to expect. That naive and hopeful wish that demons would listen to logic and reasoning and would have mercy was just that—a wish. Even so, to see it outright denied by someone who wasn't even a heartless overlord was a bit much to bear, even knowing that they were demons. "...why?"

"With this new cook, I can finally move my ambitions forward!" Sir Sweet crowed. "With a second cook, I can continue concocting legendary desserts left and right! Everyone in the Netherworld could have a sweet tooth! Why should I care about things that aren't sweet?"

Emotions welled up within the Gehenna Queen. She hugged herself, trying to stem the tide of sadness and rage that were rushing forward. She could not... no, she was better than petty rage, right?

Naaahhh.

Sir Sweet tensed. Was she going to fight? Or would she simply sulk? Even so, his mind churned, trying to come up with a scheme that would tilt the scales in his favor. She was no weakling compared to him, judging by the welling power he felt. Just as he was about to open his mouth, though, she began. "...fine. I'll have my cake... and eat it too!" The petulant queen, instead of launching an expected attack, swept some growing lollipops in the garden and began eating them out of pure defiance.

"Whaaaaat?!" Sir Sweet, indignant about someone who would dare eat his meals with no respect or dignity, began to seethe with anger. He aimed his scepter. "Stop that,  _this instant_!" From the skies, a meteor sized gumdrop sailed towards Konoka.

"Eep!" Konoka stopped her eating rampage and rolled out of the way as the gumdrop meteor crashed and exploded. She quickly flipped back onto her feet. The mad boar overlord was already summoning yet another gumdrop meteor, and she didn't have all day to dodge them. The girl flew into a sprint towards him and slid down into a tail whip attack. "Heeeyah!" The attack was enough to make the flamboyant boar flinch.

"Ouch!" Sir Sweet hissed. Much to his chagrin, Konoka wasn't even finished yet. He haphazardly scrambled away towards the edge of the garden as Konoka continued her pursuit. "I'm not done just yet!" He turned back to her as he suddenly stopped. "Are you fast enough to dodge this?!" He aimed his scepter like a rapier, and not even a second later, he burst forward with speed.

Konoka could barely turn around before Sir Sweet's ice cream drill was smashing into her side. With a cry of pain she tumbled to the ground. Trying to keep her bearings straight, she began to crawl backwards, her eyes on Sir Sweet.

The Overlord of Sweets sneered and charged again. No longer off guard, however, Konoka tumbled out of the way, though she only managed to evade the attack by a mere inch. Once again safe she stood. "Muuuu... why are your attacks making me hungry?"

"I live, breathe, and even fight in my job, don't you know!" Sir Sweet answered happily. Lifting his scepter, he gathered magical strength. "Shall we?" A steady stream of gumdrops showered from his scepter like confetti.

While Konoka did scamper back to avoid the heavier concentration, she did manage to catch one of those tasty gumdrops. She ate one.

It had explosive taste—quite literally.

Had she been a human or a much weaker demon, that would've been lethal! "Auuu!" Konoka lamented as she tried to recover from the attack, smoke pouring out of her mouth.

"You're fun to play with!" Sir Sweet laughed. "All that power and you still don't know how to use it! Well, I suppose if you were to go all out, I might not win, but since you're such a childish and innocent maiden, then I—" Alas, Konoka was already in his face, having a kind of warm smile that would frighten dragons. Sir Sweet's eyes bugged out. "...oh crap."

Sir Sweet dodged like the Fist of the North Star as that girl threatened to blast him away. He didn't even bother with trying to run this time—he flipped open his cape, letting its power extend itself into leathery bat-like wings. "N-not today!" With an agility impossible for him on foot, Sir Sweet weaved through the halls and back down into the main halls of his castle, with Konoka in hot pursuit.

Reaching an open room where the scent of his wonderful sweets was slightly stronger, he swerved to a stop. The demon boar lifted his scepter. The ice cream burst, leaving a shiny red gem that glowed with the power of fire. "Hnrrgh!" He slammed it down, and TWO gumdrop meteors sailed in, just as Konoka arrived in the room.

"Geh!" The girl twirled in response. The meteors failed to connect, albeit by a very slim margin.  
When his attack finished, however, Konoka remained at her side of the room, her tail waving excitedly as if she were a scorpion.

"You shouldn't have come so close to here!" Sir Sweet giggled. "Now, you'll witness my newest, most deeeeelicious attack!" He swung up his scepter. Four magical runes swirled into existence on the ground. From them, four dark red tentacles emerged.

Candy tentacles.

No points for guessing what happened next.

"Eeeyyahh!" Konoka cried, unable to move as the tentacles wrapped around her chest and both legs. As three of the red tentacles restrained her movement, she grit her teeth as she saw the last one snake towards her face.

"It's truly exciting, isn't it? You just might be able to satiate yourself on my taffy tentacles! Until you burst, that is~" Sir Sweet crowed.

Dashing into this horrifying scene, Konoka's prinnies nearly crashed into each other upon seeing their master wrapped up in those... things! "Gah! The  _hell is this_ , dood?!" One cried.

"Don't do it, dood! The rating's gonna shoot right up and nobody sane will read this anymore!" The other shouted at Sir Sweet in alarm.

"As long as it's not described, we're in no such danger~! Gahahahaha!" Sir Sweet, on the other hand, was having the time of his life. "That lady's sweet tooth would make her a fine customer, but she must realize that she can't just take things as she pleases! That wonderful new cook  _belongs to me_!" Thanks to his speech, they didn't see the awful, slightly devious, tasty, nasty things going on the other side of the room.

"Aren't you doing the exact same thing she's doing, dood?" One prinny shot back, putting his fins on his chubby hips, trying to ignore all those sounds going on. "That cook can make her own choices, you know!"

"Silence! As soon as she's my hungry hungry slave, I'll add you to my pot!" Sir Sweet aimed his scepter in retaliation. "I think I can start gathering more prinnies to create the legendary...  _G-Sweet_ once more!" He lifted his nose into the air; he was completely unable to resist the smell of victory. "Can you smell it? What Sir Sweet's elite is cooking?"

Then he took a closer sniff. "Wait... that isn't a sweet!"

"That's right," Satsuki stepped in. Bearing a plate of warm, spicy lasagna, the girl boldly walked over to the Overlord of Sweets. "Lacking in protein won't do you any good, and sweet foods don't have that so often, so..." She gently grabbed his snout and tilted it up, then dumped her delicious work down Sir Sweet's mouth. Then she gently closed his mouth, making him savor it.

Sir Sweet had lived entirely off of sweets his entire life. Knowing the textures, the degree of sweetness, everything... things that weren't sweet tasted like sandpaper or worse! He could live without them (he just mixed in necessary vitamins when he needed them)! But this cook of his had the talent to not only feed him something that wasn't sweet, but for it to taste... "...good? This is... good! It's good! Not sweet! Something good that isn't sweet?!" He was shaking with a dichotomy of happiness and rage. "It's impossible!  _Truly_ _ **impossible**_!"

"Is it?" Konoka asked impishly.

"Wha..." Sir Sweet, still clouded by his feelings over being fed good, non-sweet food, looked over to see Konoka had basically defeated his spell with ease, having eaten the other three taffy tentacles that actually sustained the spell. "No way! You can't be!"

"Well~," Konoka continued. "While you thought to trap me here, it was actually my idea to send you down here instead. I only fought you to stall long enough for Satsuki-chan to finish preparing her meal!"

"You mean...?" Sir Sweet stepped back.

"There's more to the world of food other than sweets!" Konoka declared. "I wanted to show you that, but you wouldn't listen! So I decided it would be the best thing ever for you to taste good cooking itself! Satsuki-chan couldn't fight, and I haven't cooked in three years, so that's how it all worked out."

"Rrrggghh!" Sir Sweet stamped his foot, trying to deny the impossible. Has his life of sweets been ruined by this cook? "I refuse to allow it! I will not be  _led astray_! If you taint my tongue with things that aren't sweet, I'll just send you to  **oblivion**!" He rose his staff to summon more gumdrop meteors.

Satsuki showed no fear, despite the lunatic overlord now gunning for her life.

Konoka however, would have none of this. She vaulted over the Overlord of Sweets, and with ease and fury, smashed the meteors with her tail before they could even get close to Satsuki. " _You will do no such thing_. You. Have.  _Lost_." She stated, standing protectively in front of the cook.

Thoroughly beaten, Sir Sweet couldn't take it anymore. He started sobbing.

"My life has lost its meaning!" He lamented like an actor dying on stage.

Konoka shed her fierce stare and simply patted him on the back. "There, there! It's not the end of the Netherworld! You can still produce sweets! I'm still taking Satsuki-chan whether you like it or not, but~" She trailed off impishly.

"But what~?" Sir Sweet looked at her.

"If you want a choice whether or not you can taste non-sweet things, or to peddle your wares further into the Netherworld, you have to let me take a share of your profits and your underlings!" Konoka smiled.

That creepy feeling of doom in her earlier smile wasn't there, but the boar demon had that feeling she could summon it at will. But still... "What do you mean by 'peddle my wares further into the Netherworld'?"

"Advertisement! Plus if we make Satsuki-chan happy instead of miserable, we could build that so called legendary G-Sweet...  _without_  prinnies, of course!" Konoka produced some contract papers (and convenient pen) out of nowhere. "So... will you pledge your help to me?"

"Yes!" Sir Sweet broke into fresh sobs. Seeing as his life currently had no meaning, he signed that silly contract and hoped this crazy girl would go away.

"Konoe-san, you really  _are_  a demon," Satsuki remarked with mirth poorly disguised as horror.

"So she really does have overlord potential!" Lucas cheered. He and the other small platoon of future recruits finally came back, having staved off the Moabs from invading the kitchen. "See, I told you Anise!"

"Guess you were right," Anise shrugged. "Still, she's not as charming as Prince Laharl..." Her eyes shined. "Ah, Prince~"

"Konoe? As in the Konoe princess?" A voice cut through.

"Hmmm? What do you want with me? You know me?" Konoka asked this voice.

Through the small crowd, a hulking green demon stepped forward. This demon gazed at Konoka with blank eyes. "Ah, yes, the Konoe Princess. I'd recognize that power of yours anywhere. You summoned many of my friends some years ago, although not of your own will. And a survivor of Zegnant."

That one got a reaction from Konoka alright. "Zegnant?!"

"Don't even know who that is, and yet his name scares me..." Lucas shivered.

" _He_ -who-must- _not-be-named_!" Turmeric declared in a spooky voice, but Anise slapped him.

"You must be fortunate, child," The demon regarded the boy. "Those who meet Zegnant without a twisted heart do not survive, whether in body or in sanity, with very few exceptions. This girl is perhaps one of them. I myself might actually have to thank him."

"Thank him...?" Konoka reeled back. Satsuki looked on nervously, seeing her former classmate's discomfort. "But why?"

The green monstrosity lifted a hand, and an orb of lightning appeared. It grabbed the mass before aiming forward and punching, creating a rift in space... a dimensional portal. "I am a Dimensional Gatekeeper. I used to be something closer to human, but I was thoroughly incompetent at my job. As punishment, Zegnant mutated my body into what you see here." The demon smirked.

The other demons noted for the first time that this one actually had something close to a female body hidden beneath that mass of muscle. So  _she_  really  _was_...

"The only thing I ever had left was my poor ability to create these rifts, and through Zegnant's despair I developed this into an amazing power. It's the only reason I'm still sane today," This demon laughed. Looking at all the stunned faces, she merely shrugged. "Hmph, I don't need your amazement or your pity. But still..." She turned back to Konoka. "...for you to have survived, young lady, I'm amazed. The halfling crow must have made a great deal to protect you."

"Halfling... you mean Setsuna Sakurazaki?" Konoka recalled. "I don't remember her too well for some reason..."

Satsuki looked on worriedly. If that sudden switch in personality was any indication, the name Setsuna Sakurazaki would be a sore point for a very long time...

Konoka decided. "Let's go home, then. If you would, err..."

"Just call me T'ifr," The female demon stated simply, and with that, she gathered energy and punched open a dimensional rift.

And that is how Konoka, who came to Sir Sweet's castle with just two prinnies, left with a small army, a lot of money, and an old friend.

* * *

Laharl's blank stare said everything: dude, why are there so many goddamn flying whales?

"Sometimes I have to wonder what the hell these humans are thinking when they design their flying ships," The small overlord snarled. "You'd think they'd go for more badass things but nooooo..."

"If they were imperial badasses, that argument might actually fly, Prince," Etna shrugged, with a small platoon of prinnies by her side.

Apparently, this floating isle they found themselves on was the gateway between their world and this so-called "Magic World"that more magically inclined humans called home. Laharl could see the vast expanse of clouds in the sky and the other floating landscapes as well. "Hmph. Feels like a Netherworld with humans in it."

"So what exactly are we looking for, Prince?" Etna asked.

"A decent place to serve as a base, of course!" Laharl smirked. "If these humans focus heavily on magic, they'll notice us a lot faster than those normal humans we've run into before. As awesome as a massive takeover would be, we can't do that without a base here!"

"Riiight," Etna shrugged that off.

Both demons surveyed a nearby isle a bit away from the small village they landed in. Laharl, of course, caught the jackpot. "Ha, as good as place as any!" He scrambled up the dangerously weak stairway, eager to get a better view. Etna decided floating was better and just followed him.

On this vast and near empty expanse, the small overlord came across a group of demons—and one nearly dead human between them. They seemed to take base pleasure in just kicking the human around like a hacky sack. Most of them were at least twice Etna's size, let alone Laharl's, but that didn't bother either of them.

No, what bothered Laharl was... "Hey, those punks are on my future turf!" The demon objected.

Apparently, this objection got noticed. Three sets of eyes swiveled towards the young overlord. " _Your_  turf?" One raised its eyebrows.

"Yeah, my turf!" Laharl boasted. He thought about it—demons were on this world, living here as well. True, living uselessly by wasting their strength on weaklings, but living nonetheless. He'd fix that as soon as this was over. Laharl got straight to the point. "How long have you clowns been here in this world?"

"Oh, we'd say a long ass time," One horned demon responded, a single eye swiveling to regard Laharl. "This human thought he was tough stuff and wanted to put an end to us messing with his town. Don't think that's happening now." He gave a sneer that even the small overlord had to quiver at... mentally, that is.

On the outside, Laharl just raised an eyebrow. "Really."

"Small chump, wanna join him?" A massively huge but very human-like demon asked, cracking his knuckles. "Or just sit back and watch. Show you how it's done and all."

"Tch, don't even know who I am, do you?" Laharl just gave a feral grin as he drew a fierce blade.

"Show 'em, Prince!" Etna cheered. "I'll just sit back here and raid all the good prizes."

"Aw, come  _the hell on_!" Laharl shot back at the demoness. "You can't cheat like t—"There was a whooshing sound, and Laharl had to stop in his tracks. Not even a second later, nightmarish bursts of lightning struck right behind him. The younger overlord whirled about to see that his previous challengers no longer existed, not even having time to scream at their own deaths. "Wha..."

From the sky, a cloaked man descended down to the floating earth, opposite of the small overlord. Looking at the fallen human, he began some slight chanting, apparently casting some healing spell. But it seemed almost weak now, definitely compared to his superior vicious attack on those other demons. Speaking of which, Laharl could feel the ire of this man despite not even seeing his eyes. "Tch. Demons. Wreaking havoc as they please. Is this  _your_  doing?"

Something felt familiar and awful about this man. Laharl immediately thought back to something he only saw once while running around with Mao: a super hero, who had fought and killed so many monsters, he had became one. Not even like the humans or other demons who ascend to Overlord status, but those figurative monsters with no heart and no regard for life.

This man was beyond logic. That was good, since Laharl decided to hate him right back. "Why should I tell you?" The demon boy shot back. "Would you listen to a demon?"

"Good point," The man conceded. He curled his hand, charging massive magical energy.

Laharl aimed his sword and dropped into a fighting stance. "Etna...  _leave this one to me_."

"What, and let you hog all the fun?" Etna objected, but in a matter of seconds, Laharl and the man had already clashed. The resulting burst was enough to blow Etna off her feet. "Seriously,  _what the f_ —" Etna flipped to dodge the random debris that flew in her direction after the men clashed a second time. "...argh, Laharl, watch it!"

The scout finally arrived. "Ten minutes in, and he's already in a fight?" The woman asked.

"It's Laharl, what did you expect?"

"Not much," The scout looked on. However, the cloaked figure fighting him—wait! Who was that...

Laharl danced about, twirling his sword to deflect the man's fierce assault of lightning moves and energy sword strikes. Geez, this bastard was fast!  _But this man can't possibly tank,_  Laharl's thought processes ran hard and fast.  _Just space away, and—_  he shoved away and flipped backwards, landing a bit away.

Laharl gave a devious grin and raised his right hand. "Meet your grave." Red hot orbs formed around the sky and around the man, swirling slowly. Then suddenly, they all zoomed in on the man, crashing into a crescendo of heat before exploding magnificently. Smoke rose from the destruction.

That was the magnificent power of Overlord's Wrath.

Or... not really, since after a few seconds, the smoke parted, and the man came tearing through with a vengeance. The only proof of Laharl's previous attack doing any damage at all was the smoke and slightly burnt clothing. "What? That's not even f—" Laharl couldn't even finish that thought, as the man had delivered a magically charged punch to his gut.

"Prince!" Etna shouted as the boy sailed into the air.

Laharl sailed helplessly as the man twirled about and chased after him, bringing another round of powerful lightning, chanting something before yelling, " **Fulguratio Albricans**!" The demon overlord recovered at the last possible second and whirled his sword to parry a fierce blast of white lightning.

"You little—" Laharl had enough of this bullshit and simply smashed his sword down. The man guarded against the attack but crashed into the earth anyway. Laharl snarled before following up with a sword stab to the ground. Of course, he missed.

Both combatants began their furious dance of speed once more. Laharl and the mysterious demon slayer crashed against each other repeatedly, gaining speed and furor. However, the man scored a lucky strike when he clipped Laharl with a sudden, magically charged kick.

It didn't hurt as much as that last attack, but it was still very, very bad. Laharl already saw the man charging up yet another high-powered spell. "This won't cut it..." Laharl hissed. "Guess it's time to start using some new moves I've learned." He lifted his right hand again. "Hey demon slaying punk!" He called out to the man. "I've got three words for the likes of you, deluded by your quest for so-called 'justice'!"

Those red orbs formed, radiating their energy. However, instead of chucking them at the man, Laharl let the red energy crash into himself. " **HUMAN SLAYER X**!" Charged with massive energy, Laharl dropped to the man's level before charging downward in a red ball of chaos, slamming into the man and letting his world explode.

Laharl stood once more. "For a human, you're pretty damn tough."

"Heh... I haven't fought a demon your level in ages..." The man responded, wiping blood from his mouth. "Perhaps I'll end this now..." He curled his hand. This delayed spell of his only had one shot... it had better count!

He shoved his hand forward, and at once a half sphere of magic circles appeared in the sky, all surrounding Laharl. The demon's eyes shot open as the man shouted, " **KHILIARKHOU ASTRAPE** ( **Thousand Thunderbolts** )!" And with a deafening crescendo, Laharl found himself on the receiving end of one thousand lightning bolts.

"Laharl!" Etna screamed.

The other woman just clenched her fists.

There was silence, as the shadowed man simply let out a huff, before beginning to march away.

"Don't even check to make sure I was dead? Way to let your guard down!" Laharl's voice echoed.

"...maybe I don't give the Prince enough credit..." Etna muttered. However, she saw one huge magic circle unlock itself and open in the sky. "Aw hell..." Just as she feared (and predicted), falling from the massive circle in the sky was one huge meteor. "LAHARL,  _YOU IDIOT_!"

"HAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Laharl crowed from his vantage point on top of the flaming rock of doom. Needless to say, it crashed into the earth, wiping out nearly everything within a hundred foot radius. It was a great reminder of Laharl's destructive power—one that he would not hesitate to gloat about.

When the smoke cleared once more, the fallen man had a sword pointed to his neck, courtesy of one Overlord Laharl. "Not bad, but still not good enough. Still... had you just been a second faster with that attack, I would've actually been toast."

"Geh, stop blabbering and just finish me," The man grumbled, red hair shading his eyes. "I caused too much of a burden to my own kid, and both princesses, just by being too powerful..."

Etna, seeing as all the fury and battle was over stepped closer to hear their conversation, and nearly tripped when she heard Laharl admit he was close to losing... wait what? How was that even possible? Only that Mao kid and that legendary Tyrant Overlord Baal ever came close to beating him, and both were high level demons equal to him in strength. Oh well, this guy was toast anyway. So—

"Huh?" Etna blinked, seeing that the scout they brought along with them suddenly darted forward after hearing the man speak. Her eyes were clouded with emotions the demon girl couldn't figure out.

"Geh, fine then!" Laharl waved his insult away. "Remember, you wished for it!" He lifted his sword to behead the man once and for all—

POW, RIGHT IN THE KISSER!

Etna's jaw hit the ground.

Laharl was so shocked from the blow he staggered back. He also barely registered that the man on the ground had been slapped as well. "This isn't like you  _at all_  to bottom up like this!" He heard the scout yell at the man when he regained his senses.

...and boy, was he pissed. "You just hit me, didn't you?"

The scout stared back at him, regarding him with strangely calm blue eyes.

"Did you  _seriously_  hit me?" Laharl tried again. But that defiant and calm stare was his only answer. He was at a boiling point now. The  _insolence_! "DID YOU JUST SERIOUSLY HIT ME?"

However, instead of any answer, he got laughter. From the man.

"Daahahaha! Man, you haven't changed a bit, have you?" His entire facial expression changed. Gone was the despondent man who had seen too much death to care. His eyes were alight with a sort of carefree brattiness most shounen protagonist youth would have in spades.

"I see deep down inside you haven't changed either." The woman responded. They embraced each other tightly, much to the disgust and confusion of Laharl and Etna. "Now have some sense."

"Hey, I know this is a touching family reunion and all, but could you explain what the hell is going on here?" Etna demanded. "How do you two know each other? And who the hell are you, anyway?"

The man shakily stood, but his smile was broad. "I'm Nagi. Nagi Springfield."

"I know this incompetent fool from the days of my humanity... as a princess of a sovereign nation," The scout gave the cloaked hero a sideways but endearing glance before facing Laharl and Etna. "I am Arika."

"Hmph, that explains a few things," Laharl folded his arms. "Anyway, I'll admit that you pack a punch, Nagi Springfield! I'll make you my new vassal!" And of course, that statement couldn't be ended without a trademark arrogant laugh. Which Laharl did. "Haaaaahahahahaha!"

Nagi and Arika exchanged looks before giving a heavy sigh in unison.

Etna smirked. "Have fun under your new boss, kids! Employment benefits take about 100 years to finalize! That's unless of course, you can hook me up with some good sweets."

She then leaned in and whispered. "Then we can knock it down to 75."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Ah, yet another wonderful chapter. As always, reviews and concrit are appreciated! Also, I should give a heavy thanks to Dark Dragon Dave for betaing my stuff and putting up with my ramblings.)


	4. Chapter 3: Overlord Priere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Konoka gains her first visitors! Wonder how that's gonna turn out...

"Mmmnn... Secchan..." The Gehenna Queen's quiet whispers sounded cute, sad, and disturbing all at once to one Satsuki Yotsuba. She was only here to wake Konoka for breakfast, and yet, here she was, deep within a dream. She looked so peaceful. Maybe she shouldn't bother her now. Quietly, the cook began to turn around and leave the room.

Konoka's sleeping face contorted into worry. "No... don't... stop...!"

Whatever peace there was to be had in slumber was no longer there. The quiet urgency in Konoka's voice struck Satsuki's heartstrings, and the cook immediately dashed to her side. She immediately tried to wake the girl. "Konoe-san. Konoe-san!"

"No... Secchan, I..." With an inhuman speed, the still sleeping Konoka ensnared Satsuki in a wicked embrace. "Don't..." To make matters worse, that white tail wrapped itself around Satsuki's leg, too, with the tip getting horribly close to her personal area...

"Ah, err..." So confused over this sudden change of events, Satsuki could only stutter at first, but she calmed down. If she could wake her... Calmly but firmly, she said once more. "Konoe-san."

Konoka's eyes snapped open. Seeing Satsuki in front of her jolted the girl's senses. "Eh?" Her mouth hung open as wide as her eyes. "Wah!" She let go immediately. "I'm sorry! Did I scare you? Did my tail do anything? I swear it thinks on its own!"

"I'm okay, Konoe-san. Please relax." Satsuki murmured.

Konoka stared for a moment, then smiled in relief. "Okay!" The demoness rose and stretched. She regarded Satsuki once more. "By the way, did I say anything strange in my sleep?"

"...no." Satsuki lied, or at least, it felt like lying. Wasn't it?

Konoka did not care. "Okay then," She began to easily change out of her bedclothes and began to change into her usual short kimono. "By the way, the prinnies aren't bothering you with their paint job, are they? I wanted this place to be a little less... morbid."

"...paint job?"

* * *

"What. Is. THIS?!" Lunzard Torque roared like a musical finale.

Spend a few days in the basement and when you finally come up for air, the whole castle is white? Too much white EVERYWHERE! He'd go blind! He'd start spouting crappy lines about justice! "Whose harebrained scheme was this?"

"Master Konoka gave us this directive while she was gone, dood!" The prinnies answered, spinning around from their victory of completing the task. "And we just managed to finish before she got back, dood! Oh, and I think she has some guests or something too, dood."

"Geerrgh, I didn't tell that woman to bring guests! I said  _generics_!" He threw up his arms. He hoped this spontaneity was not a constant feature of Konoka's decisions. "Who knows when some upstart demon lord might show up..."

"I don't think I like being referred to as  _generic_..." A dimension portal ripped open right beside him. Emerging from it was a brute green demon with muscles and... a female body? Lunzard raised an eyebrow as the demon gave him a blank stare. "Supporting cast sounds much better."

"That's  _right_ , punk!" Lunzard saw a boastful warrior type appear, waving his sword threateningly. "I, Turmeric of the Phoenix Clan, am  _not generic_!"

"Wha..." Lunzard blinked. Since when did brute force demons manage dimensional travel? And why was this warrior such a showoff? Still, for Konoka to still be alive after bringing these people back here, guess he really couldn't complain. "So she's more observant than she looks," He thought out loud. Finally addressing the green demon directly, he said, "So I take it you're our new dimensional guide? I suppose getting us wherever we wish in one piece is good enough, no point in choosing what you look like. What's your maximum range? Do you know?"

"My maximum range is whatever Konoka-ojou-sama wishes," The demon answered simply.

"Mwah ha ha, bold words. But you don't look like the nonsense type," Lunzard smirked. "Very well, make yourself at home, but be ready at a moment's notice."

"Understood," And T'ifr punched a hole in space and slinked back into the dimensional warp into quiet quarters unknown.

"As for  _you_ , my dear Phoenix clan hero, you ought to push that  _passion_  of yours and get our dear Overlord interested in investing in some weaponry." Lunzard was unaware of how accurate his use of "passion" really was.

"I can't say I enjoy being bossed around within five seconds of showing up here, but you sound like you know what you're saying, so perhaps I'll follow! Turmeric of the Phoenix clan, SIGNING OFF!" And the brazen warrior dashed off deeper into the castle, leaving Lunzard to shake his head.

The moody demon mechanic continued to look at the horrifyingly white paint job. Why did this white have to be so... clean? It was almost as if this princess was trying to whitewash her history or something, or intentionally freak out every demon from here to Veldime...  _wait a minute_.

He  _did_  say "Establish yourself as someone not to be messed with." And she said she'd do it in her own fashion.

The  _cunning bitch_.

He had to hold back the smile that threatened to form on his face—he could no longer say that she wasn't interesting, at least. So wrapped up in these thoughts as he walked by the entrance to the castle that he nearly missed the strange person traipsing about. Unlike the other familiar generics, this one looked like... an angel? Wait what?

Lunzard immediately launched his verbal interrogation. "I don't remember seeing you around here! Who are you?"

The strange and apparently fallen angel turned around, her face flush with confusion for all of five seconds before she gave a warm smile. "I'm an assassin! An assassin for love~!"

" _WHAT_ "

The demon mechanic couldn't even compute someone being an assassin for love, let alone his own proper punctuation. The fallen angel giggled. "Even though I've fallen, I still believe that the power of love will make the Netherworld grow closer! I, Fallen Angel Flonne, on behalf of Lord Laharl, I will spread the message of love~!"

"Who have you come to assassinate?" Lunzard dodged her silly talk and got straight to the point.

"The overlord~" This Flonne character giggled. "Juuuuust kidding~"

"Make sense, you damned cupid reject!" Lunzard was pretty close to tearing out his hair in frustration and summoning one of his brutal machines on the spot... you know what, he might as well just do that right now. This angel seemed like really, really bad news for a reason he couldn't quite put his finger on. "Or I'll beat it out of you!" He pressed a button, and from the ground, a hulking yellow machine burst out from the ground. Its design resembled something of a monkey imitating a tank. "As this castle's overlord, I will not tolerate random people invading my castle!"

"You're the overlord of this castle?" Flonne blinked in surprise. "But I thought another Fallen was here? Oh no, I was already lost for a while, what if I got the wrong castle again?" The girl sashayed in worry, almost failing to notice the demon mechanic step back beside the monkey-like tank. It charged its gun and shot at Flonne, and a mighty explosion ensued.

"That's right!" Lunzard boasted, taking the time to gloat. "I—"

"I'll have to call bullshit on that one, good sir!" A voice rang out.

Lunzard blinked and saw that, as the smoke cleared, his attack had been negated. A fiery wall of sorts had halted the attack from frying that angel, and judging by her confused face it wasn't her counter attack. "Geh!" Lunzard snorted just as that wall of flames snuffed out.

"That's right!" A rather uptight voice added. A very tall purple-suited ninja appeared beside Flonne. "This castle's Overlord doesn't work with mechanical devices. That was a job for her number two!"

A demon samurai woman whirled on the other side of Flonne. "As expected of My Lady! Her genius and kindness to all are matched by none!"

The Lady in question landed in front of the fallen angel, with two feet and one hand on the ground. The other hand held a massive old book. As she stood up, she turned to Flonne. "'Sup Flonne! Long time, no see! Ready to show our power as badasses?" Raspberyl grinned.

Recognition finally setting in, the fallen angel nodded. "Of course!" Flonne wasted no time in pulling out an ornate bow after that, taking aim at the giant robot before her. "We'll show you, fake overlord!"

"Tch! Let's just get to the part where I blast you to smithereens!" Lunzard hissed. "Torque Sasquatch, ANNIHILATE THEM!"

The robot monkey answered his call by firing a single shell. It landed in the hall and exploded with devastating effect...

...except nobody actually got hurt, seeing as everyone had already split from ground zero. Lunzard looked up to see a a flurry of holy arrows (and a few ninja stars) sailing in his direction. "Get back!"

The Torque Sasquatch ambled backwards and lifted its right hand to guard against the onslaught. Unfortunately it was only partially effective, seeing as the arrows still pierced the arm and its armor.

"Ha ha!" Beryl reappeared, dashing towards the giant robot ape before flicking her free hand towards it. A flare of explosive fire power rocked its face. "See ya!"

"Gah!" Lunzard and the Sasquatch stumbled backwards. Steadying their footing, Lunzard found that the damage was far from putting him out of commission. Grinning savagely, he pressed a button. Immediately, compartments on the ape robot opened, and a salvo of missiles fired at the smaller demon. "Always carry emergency missiles! WHOOO HOO HOO HOO!"

Raspberyl stepped back, but a shadow leapt over her and landed in front, sword drawn. "Asuka!"

Her loyal demon samurai warrior nodded before sweeping her sword in one grand, elegant slash, stopping the missile massacre right in its tracks. "We'll keep him at bay My Lady! Get rid of that cannon!" She charged forward, slashing at the Sasquatch. The ninja Kyoko, too, pressed an attack.

"Gotcha!" Raspberyl also landed a jump on top of the Sasquatch, her book flaring to life.

"Oh, no you don't!" Lunzard roared. The Sasquatch gave a mechanical roar, and began smashing the ground furiously. All three Nether Institute graduates struggled to keep the robo-beast from overwhelming them.

"Oh no  _you_  don't!" Flonne retaliated, seeing as her friends were now having difficulty with the monstrous robot. She didn't even bother with her weapons and began attacking Lunzard directly, trying her hardest to smack him with her staff and even a few weak physical blows.

"Dammit, cut it out!" Lunzard complained as Flonne's hands reached out for him in fury. This went on until...

"Hold it right there!" A familiar voice rang out.

The fighting stopped. There was a giant cannon way to damn close for Beryl's comfort, Flonne had apparently figured out the meaning of handlebar mustache and both of Beryl's underlings were trying their damnedest to not become monkey paste. All eyes fell upon the stern gaze of the true overlord of the castle, her wings stiffening with one final flap. "What's the meaning of this, and why are you all fighting?" Konoka asked.

"They started it!" Lunzard pointed furiously at the other girls like a little kid.

"Does it matter who started it? I'm finishing this," Konoka coolly responded with a smile.

"You're the overlord?" Flonne stopped harassing Lunzard and immediately jumped up to inspect this new face. "I think I finally found you! Yay~!"

"Hot damn, really?" Beryl carefully edged away from the monkey of death before gunning straight beside Flonne.

Konoka blinked and pointed at herself, that clueless smile on her face. "Me?"

* * *

There was lots of tea, and it was good.

The kindly overlord and her several guests sat around the plush living room. Despite the large glass pane window making the room feel absurdly tall, the white lighting made the room feel far more comfortable. After Satsuki had finished preparing and serving the tea, Konoka bade her to sit down with the rest of the group.

Introductions were exchanged.

"I'm Konoka Konoe, former human spreading peace and kindness to Gehenna!"

"Tehe! I'm Flonne, the assassin of love~"

" **NO**! I, Lunzard Torque, will not tolerate  _assassins_  of  _love_! That's an oxymoron!"

"Well~, since you insist, actually I'm a fallen angel, who still believes in love and justice!"

"Riiiight," Lunzard muttered. Konoka giggled.

"My name's Raspberyl... just call me Beryl! Me and my friends Asuka and Kyoko are the most badass delinquents this side of the Netherworld!"

"Uh-huh."

"We agree!"

"I'm... Satsuki Yotsuba, the presiding cook..."

Once settled, Lunzard spoke up, "Didn't I tell you to hunt for generics? No evil overlord can succeed in staying on top without having a variety of minions at his or her beck and call!"

"But I  _did_  get generics!" Konoka half-whined in her defense. Then she sheepishly added, "Even though I kinda stole them from someone else who was recruiting..."

"Heh, that's all good and well, but just because you have the protagonist modifier doesn't mean they can't be stolen right back!" The demon mechanic argued. "You better give them a good reason to stay loyal."

"Okay, I understand," Konoka took a sip of her tea. "It's about respect, right?"

"And don't you forget it!"

This picked up the interest of the other two prominent visitors. "So you really are new at being an Overlord, huh?" Flonne asked.

"Guess I am!" Konoka smiled, her tail waving. Her wings fluttered a bit as well, catching the fallen angel's attention.

"Angel wings..." Flonne gazed at Konoka's appendages with something that looked like nostalgia. "...can't say I've seen too many in a long time," Flonne remarked as she examined Konoka's wings. "I lost mine quite a few years ago when I became a fallen angel."

"Fallen?" Konoka asked. "That sounds sad... though I think I've been a demon the whole time. I dunno why I have angel wings."

"Ah, you shouldn't worry about that. When I came to the Netherworld, I didn't exactly have wholesome reasons, though at the time I didn't understand that, and I'm happier here." Flonne waved off Konoka's worry.

Satisfied with that, Konoka turned to the smaller Raspberyl. "So where do you come from?"

"Me? I hail from the Nether Institute! As do my friends!" The plucky small demon answered. "We graduated this past year, but because a good friend of ours now runs the school, we help him out.

"Nether Institute?" Satsuki tilted her head in confusion. "Where is that?"

"Couple of worlds down, right nearby the Ruins of Pappillon. Can't miss it."

"Errmm..." Konoka and Satsuki nervously chorused. "We... have  _no_  clue what you mean."

"Oh, I see!" Flonne said, banging her fist into an open palm. "You've only been to the human world up until recently, right?"

The girls nodded.

"Then let me put it this way: the Netherworld is actually a whole system of worlds! Thanks to dimension guides, we can journey between these worlds with ease. It might be more accurate to call it a Nether _plane_."

"Guess that's one way of putting it," Beryl shrugged. "I know that the human plane rests of top of this one, and the Celestia plane on top of that. Traveling planes ain't as nearly as easy. There are only certain rare places where the planes are close enough to merge."

"Huh..." Konoka pondered these facts. In concept, instant transportation in the Netherworld was easy, but the human world it was almost nigh impossible. It would explain how she came here in the first place... but how did that come to be? Could she get back home the same way? "But... now that I think about it, there were a few legends on earth that said Gehenna was something closer to purgatory than hell... would that make this place the closest to the human world?"

"Of course it is!" Lunzard bellowed. "How else did you think Ze—"

There was a banging—faint compared to the size of the castle, but for some reason Konoka could hear it like a cannon being launched up close. "W-what was that?" She asked suddenly standing at alert.

"It could be something going on in my lab, but that sounds like something going on upstairs..." Lunzard postured. Realizing something, he shook his head. "Dammit, all those robots I build and I still don't even have decent security? I guess I was too confident in the rumors of Zegnant scaring everyone away..."

"Zegnant?" Flonne blinked.

"This castle's previous overlord," Konoka clarified. "But we won't be speaking of him right now. He's gone, and his evil with him. But enough of that, let's go check out that spooky noise~"

"Yes, let's!" Flonne agreed. "If it's a thief, we can smash him with the power of justice!" And both of them happily twirled like lunatic prinnies before dashing off upstairs, tittering like teenage girls hyped on pixie sticks.

"They get along well," Satsuki observed.

"My GOD, it's like there's two of them!" Lunzard reeled back in horror, seeing how  _alike_  they were. "Screw that, I'm going back downstairs and making some security robots!" And he stomped off in the opposite direction.

With Lunzard gone, Beryl scratched her head. "Huh... to be honest this place kinda creeps me out..." She looked around. "But that doesn't make it  _any less awesome_ ," She sneered before facing Satsuki. "Hey, Satsuki, was it? You should come along."

"Me?" Satsuki blinked. "But I can't fight. All I can do is cook, and even that..." She trailed off. However, she did try and shake off that morose feeling. She'd never improve at that rate!

Beryl saw this and simply crowed, "Don't worry about it! If you watch enough, you'll be able to hang with the big boys! You just gotta find some good special moves and stuff you're good with! Now come on, I bet there's some epic boss fight or something that's gonna happen upstairs! Kyoko! Asuka! Let's rock!"

Both of her cronies locked arms with Satsuki and followed their diminutive leader up the stairs, smiling all the way. "Don't worry, Miss Satsuki!" Samurai Asuka said. "The Lady is much stronger than she looks, she can probably protect you AND your overlord."

"That's... not what I'm worried about right now," Satsuki giggled nervously.

* * *

If Lunzard saw that even the attic-like North Wing was painted in white, he would go into conniptions. But even that purifying color could not hide the quietly disturbing dungeon-like feel of the room Flonne and Konoka stepped into. "I think the noise we heard is probably close to here..." Konoka murmured.

"Wow, even the dungeons look all pretty and clean~!" Flonne marveled. "I really like your style!"

"Thank you!" Konoka giggled, and both unholy girls giggled together.

When the giggles died down, Flonne looked up. Somebody, with wings like a giant bat, hung upside down on a support bar near the ceiling. "Say... you know you have bats up there, right? Or really big bat people?"

"Bats?" Konoka blinked, then looked up. Yeah, she saw that same person there too.  _And the hole in the roof._  "Hey wait..."

She felt a sinister, unholy smile, and frightening power. This scary person pushed off the bar and landed with a powerful -THUMP- on the ground. As the person rose, Konoka could see it wasn't a bat at all.

This unholy person before dressed much like a corrupted demon nun, with the normally conservative black(or in this case, dark purple) robe shredded down to just hiding her chest and abdomen, with her sleeves unattached. She wore no habit—the sharp horns curling from her red hair would probably mess that up real quick. Her body was shapely and looked to be extremely powerful. But perhaps the most disconcerting of all was that dangerous holy aura that surrounded her.

This strange new person flapped her wings, perhaps to give them a stretch or to just look really intimidating. Either way, Konoka did not understand what this woman was up to. "Hmm? Who are you? Were you here the whole time?!"

Flonne's eyes widened in recognition. "Hey wait, that's...!"

The woman pulled out a baton, a mostly black thing with silver rungs and a holy cross design at its end. She twirled it expertly, stepped forward, and...

Before Konoka could even register what had happened, the woman rushed her, slamming that baton straight into her gut. Konoka sailed into the wall, much to Flonne's shock.

Konoka clutched her stomach, the pain threatening to dull her senses. She could hardly follow Flonne's tiny shriek before noticing a slew of holy arrows launched in her attacker's direction. Unfortunately, said attacker wasted no time in chasing Flonne down as well, the baton easily swatting away Flonne's arrows. One clonk to the head later, and Flonne went down.

The poor fallen angel, seeing stars, only muttered, "Overlord Priere... again...?"

"Oh no! Flonne-han!" Konoka cried. Once again, however, that unholy former nun had her eyes locked on the Gehenna Queen. "What do you want?" Konoka shouted.

This unholy nun, now known as Overlord Priere, stepped towards her, and spoke for the first time. "So you're the person who bears holy power like me... and that fallen angel? Huh, not much of a challenge, despite all that power you got." She flared her wings open and jumped into a fierce kick. Despite her blocking the move, Konoka was still sent flying.

Luckily this time Konoka did not have to make a wall crater, so she recovered faster when this fallen nun struck again with yet another airborne kick. Konoka twirled to the side and narrowly evaded, watching with horrified fascination as the kick made as large as a crater as it would have if  _she were still in it_. The deviled maiden snarled and twirled her baton again, and rushed her once more. "Aiyah!" Konoka flipped onto her hands and let her white tail do the talking. The savage white appendage clashed with the baton, with the fallen nun and former Konoe princess striking with increasing ferocity.

"Oh ho? Not bad!" Priere crowed. "I want to see more!" Just as Konoka's tail slithered to attack, the other demon simply fell back...

...and grabbed it.

Konoka knew she was screwed the moment she felt a hand on her tail. The demon girl screamed as the unholy nun slammed her to the ground, again, again, and again... "Da ha ha ha ha! It's such a shame that you don't have a clue on just how strong you can be!" Konoka grabbed the ground with her nails, and Priere stopped her slamming. "Giving up? I'd thought another holy power would be more resilient than this. That fallen angel over there was a greater challenge."

"You..." Konoka breathed. She wasn't even sure what she was thinking anymore—her body ached all over, someone was taunting her again, making her suffer... it had to stop, and it had to stop now. She was still feeling weak, and even the white paint couldn't keep her mind from slowly blanking out...

Overlord Priere gazed at her opponent—something was off. She was hardly moving, save for the tiny shakes that seemed to be like one standing over the precipice of insanity. Her hand was stroking one of her feathery wings... Priere tensed.

That paid off, since in the blink of an eye, Konoka drew one of her feathers and sliced across like a sword. Had Priere reacted with her baton just a moment later, her abdomen would've been cleanly cleaved in two.

The clash was loud enough to snap Flonne out of her daze. Shaking all that fuzziness out of her head, the fallen angel looked to see the battle tide had changed dramatically.

Now Priere understood—Konoka had used one of her feathers like a focusing point, creating it into a thin sword of light. Her eyes shaded and teeth bared, her new worthy opponent seemed to have undergone a complete personality change. With that, she knew that the younger demon before her finally meant business. Sneering silently, Priere pushed herself back to space herself. She twirled her baton again and threw it like a lightning quick boomerang, but Konoka easily deflected it with one broad sweep.

The possessed Gehenna Queen lunged, and Priere caught her baton back just in time to guard against a whirl of quick slashes. Both overlords began a furious dance of swordplay, or rather light-sword-and-baton play. For a fleeting moment, Priere found it odd that she was having to resort to finesse and grace rather than just brute force alone, an art nearly forgotten to her since her human days (not that she used it that much as a human, anyways).

But she had enough. It was entertaining, exciting, but this girl was still...  _lacking_  in something.

Luckily, she knew what it was. "I applaud you for fighting me for this long, but in the end..." Priere suddenly jumped back, nearly causing Konoka to trip. It was all she needed—the unholy nun smashed Konoka with one kick to the gut, sending her airborne.

"... _you can't beat me_."

Priere stomped Konoka into the ground, knocking her out cold.

Not noticing fallen angel's shock grow into anger, let alone the fallen angel herself, Priere continued to taunt the defeated Konoka. "And you want to know why you can't beat me?"

"Experience. Obviously," A voice pierced her monologue.

Priere felt that strong sensation of five pairs of eyes open up right behind her. To her surprise, a magnificently gigantic black cobra circled around her. It should be mentioned that this cobra had five heads, and each head had its jaws ready to tear the fallen nun in two. Not even a second later, the fallen angel she so carelessly knocked out was now back in her face, ignoring the cobra and keeping a holy arrow aimed straight at her eyes. She also noticed the sensation of a sword and a kunai aimed at her neck as well.

Priere remembered these three—Raspberyl and her two groupies Asuka and Kyoko ran around that Nether Institute... meeting them here was something unexpected.

However, the voice that spoke wasn't from any of those familiar faces. An ordinary human girl walked into her vision... she looked way too ordinary, aside from being somewhat tall and maybe somewhat broad, like a person who was in the process of slimming down. And unlike the others she stepped wearily around the huge snake and all the powerful demons. But despite being a mere human, there was a ferocity in those eyes, even if her face looked all soft and kindly and weak. "Konoe-san has been a demon for all of three years, but I bet she's been an  _awake_  demon for all of three days. She didn't fight as a human, so naturally she is not used to her powers as a demon. Thus, you would win in your battle of strength. But what exactly are you trying to prove by invading someone's house just to beat them up?"

"Beating up people is Priere's  _modus operandi_ ," Beryl answered, not keeping her eyes off of the fallen nun. "She's basically a wandering overlord who's killed countless demons, even when she was human, so naturally she's really dangerous. (By the way,  _modus operandi_  is such a cool phrase!)"

"Strong, weak, it doesn't matter. All I want is the next fight," Priere calmly added.

"The weak are not there for you to assert your strength over," Satsuki countered.

"Such bold words for a mere human." Priere gazed at Satsuki. "But you should be relieved, I don't waste my power on those who don't challenge me to a fight."

" _So why did you hurt Konoe-san_?" Satsuki asked.

"She has... great potential," Priere grinned. Satsuki was reminded of those devilish grins she swore she saw on Evangeline some days. "I fought her despite her weakness and lack of invitation because deep down inside, in her... I see  _me_."

"That's not how potential works!" Flonne objected.

"That's right, potential is only the science of how much bigger her tracts of land would get!" Kyoko added. Odd stares from everyone else in the room was her only reward. "...I'm not as intelligent on my feet as My Lady is..."

Satsuki figured if this is the usual politics of the demon world, she would have to get serious... quick. There would be no end to the tension if this kept up, awkward jokes or no. She cradled the fallen Konoka and simply said, "We should get back downstairs and wait for Konoe-san to awaken again. No need rushing into something we would all regret."

All agreed, but nobody let down their weapons until Priere sighed and shut off her dangerous powers.

* * *

Konoka stirred once more to the gentle sounds of "Konoe-san... Konoe-san..." The weary queen opened her eyes.

"Satsuki...chan?" Konoka blinked. Then she remembered. The woman in the north wing, she knocked out Flonne, she was slamming her, and—! "Oh no!" She sat up, looking around the living room in panic. Was that woman still here? Was Flonne okay? Why is she in the living room?

"Battle's over, girlie. I win. You lose." Konoka dreaded that voice, but nevertheless she turned to the source. That former nun was sitting on a couch opposite of her, a snide grin all over her face. "Though I do admit that swordplay from your feather was a nice unexpected touch."

"Swordplay...?" That unexpected note froze Konoka out of her fears, and into that vague curiosity. She remembered someone who was an expert at the swords, but only vaguely. Trying to piece it together, however, just kept failing. Damn that mental block and her own revulsion! "I blanked out when you started slamming me on the ground!"

"Oh so now you're gonna claim you have Multiple Personality Disorder," Priere didn't change expressions at all, though she looked like she was holding back laughter. "Nevertheless, because you're so interesting, for the first time ever, I want to take a victory prize from you."

"What? No way!" Raspberyl knew something really bad could go down if this blood knight (or nun) was actually asking for a prize other than another fight. "The hell are you plotting?"

"You're already an overlord!" Flonne objected. "The titles don't stack!"

"What's a title?" Satsuki blinked, complete with oblivious smile(tm).

"It's an introduction so random demons don't mess with you... for the most part," Beryl answered. "For instance, Konoka is 'Gehenna's Infant Overlord'."

Satsuki blinked, having no clue on how she read that or even how the hell she could read her own. "So why am I... 'Cheerily Angsty Cook'?"

"Character development affects your title too."

"Oh. Right." There was a moment of silence. "...wait, I'm angsting right now?"

"Not interested in titles," Priere waved off the accusation. "Couldn't even take it even if I wanted to. She'd have to die before that happened. Well if she  _wants_  to die I can always arrange that..." (To which Konoka immediately replied "No thank you!")

"So wait, if you don't want to strip her of her title, does this mean you want this castle?" Flonne asked, still slightly edgy.

"Nope."

"Do you want this furniture?" Asuka asked.

"No."

"Are you going to try and take her virginity?! Two women is... not right!" Kyoko exclaimed. She once again earned every awkward stare in the room. She lamented. "...why do I get all the awful lines? I have shamed myself as a ninja..."

"That'd be... an  _interesting_  experiment, but nope." Priere crossed her legs. "As I said before, I'm interested in this potential. So therefore, I'm staying here, free room and board.  _That_ will be my prize."

There was an epic stunned silence. Then... "Fair enough..." All eyes fell on Konoka. The Gehenna queen looked somewhat smaller, twiddling her thumbs and curling her tail close to her. "You did win, so I guess you can stay. But..." Konoka's sheepishness disappeared in a blink of an eye. "Should you threaten my mini—no, my  _children_ , I will make your life hell, no matter how many times I lose!"

Priere smiled. Somehow, that grin was a shade less predatory than the others.

"Hell no!" Beryl stood up, despite the fact that only her minions could tell the difference. Leering hard at the fallen nun, she bellowed. "I won't let you do as you please! We're staying here too!" To show their shock and appreciation for their boss, both Asuka and Kyoko pulled off a perfect fountain spittake.

"My Lady, you can't be serious!" Asuka exclaimed.

"This is  _justice_  we're talking about!" Beryl shouted back. "I can't let that wacko nun bully Konoka! As the top delinquents of Nether Institute, it's our mission to protect fellow badasses!"

"My Lady!" Both of her cronies sobbed tears of happiness.

"I couldn't call myself the fallen angel of justice if I ignored that speech!" Flonne added, beaming like she just donated a wad of cash to charity. "In the name of love, I will stay here too and quell these tensions!"

"Yay~!" Apparently Konoka liked this recent development and hugged Flonne in appreciation. "In that case, I'll make rooms for you all!"

Turning her loss into a victory went just as planned.

"That means I have to make dinner for everyone," Satsuki had to force herself to not get caught up in the excitement. "But please don't beat each other up. Fighting will not get you fed in my kitchen." She specifically locked eyes with Priere, who wasn't even fazed by that subtle threat from that puny human. But still...

Something inside her whispered about her humanity.

Unseen to her rivals, she shivered. Damn, she hates memories.

* * *

The Demon Dean of Evil Academy thumbed through a comic book as he sat on top of his now completed (and thank goodness not problem riddled) Dual Death Laser. "Hrrmm... I think I need to be able to summon these things from hammerspace if I even want to think about using it as an offensive move! Dah..."

He was faintly aware of the door opening to his lab, but didn't react until he heard a voice. "Hello, good sir!"

It was that swan again. "Whaddya want?" Mao peeked over his comic book.

"I got some mail of yours. Mr. Champloo said you'd be interested in reading it," Cygnus grinned, waving a small envelope. With a flick of the wrist, the dark swan chucked the note in Mao's direction. The dean easily caught it without looking. Casually, he tore open the letter with the finesse of a samurai before reading its contents.

_Dear Mao,_

_Sup! Finally got here to Gehenna after having to navigate a bunch of places. How's things back at home?_

_Konoka, yeah, that's the new Overlord's name, is pretty badass person. Even though she's got wings like an angel, she really is a pure demon. The whole tail thing and the epic canines help, too! She's also really nice_ (Mao forced himself to twist his face in disgust by pure habit upon seeing the word 'nice') _and she has holy powers up the wazoo! And the completely white castle? I'm totally digging it!_

_...even if it's a little creepy for a demon to be doing._

_Listen, though. Some jerk of an overlord has moved in, and I'm not talking about Laharl. She's that Overlord Priere chick who we ran into that one time, and she's even stronger than before. She beat up Konoka, but refuses to leave because she sees some sort of massive power. For the time being I'm staying here and making sure things don't go south. Hope ya don't miss me~_

_Raspberyl ~ <3_

_P.S Stay outta trouble, that's_ my  _job!_

"Welp, she's taking care of herself..." Mao muttered. "Though it sucks for that nooblet that she got her face rearranged first week on the job," He failed to hold back a round of snickering. But wait a damn second... wasn't he supposed to have new info about this Konoka woman before Beryl wrote back? "Hey you! Swan boy!" Mao shouted down to the boy. "Weren't you supposed to have some more info for me?"

"What? I know you've got good reason to doubt me, but think about how fast you got that letter," Cygnus answered. "Letters take anywhere from two days to two years to cross worlds."

Mao checked the date...  _she wrote this yesterday_. Not bad, but... "Did you like, disguise yourself as a mailman? And how many dimensional guides did you hijack to pull this off?"

"Actually...  _yes_  to the first question," Cygnus simpered. "As for the second—wh-what?" The swan boy stopped as some sort of massive magical circle flared under Mao. "Sir...?"

"Huh...?" Mao blinked, seeing the magic circle swirl and activate. He tried to step down off of his perch. "I... I can't move?" He looked down. Those patterns... he's seen them somewhere before! "Hey wait, I've seen those magic circles in a comic book! The super wicked cult was gonna summon a massive demon on top of the maiden, and... hey wait a damn second! I'M BEING SUMMONED—?" The magic circle flared to life, and Mao disappeared.

"Sir? Sir?! Aw  _hell_ ," Cygnus snarled.

The magic circle was still there. "Hmm... all is not lost, though. I can tail his signature..." He twisted his hands until they were pointing opposite of each other, then touched his palms together. " **Gloria en obscurum**..."

His shadow began to distort, and the power of darkness began to grow beneath his feet...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of yet another chapter. Reviews and concrit are always appreciated! Also check my link on my profile page for more author's notes! And staying sharp about canon from both stories makes for interesting discussions too (note that I may still take liberties)...
> 
> Next time takes us back to Mahora! What has happened in the past three years to the Negi gang, since their most prominent healer is no longer with them? Tune in and find out!


	5. Chapter 4: Mahora's Legacy

From the world we all know, there stood a school. That school was Mahora Academy, the wondrous academic place that rested somewhere in the heart of Japan. This huge, almost city-like academy was home to various scholars, humans, heroes, and even a legendary vampire.

They were the group known as the White Wings.

Three years have passed since the supposed death of two of their own and the disappearance of a slew of others, but time is not kind to those who stay still. Even though their friends were lost, these White Wings grew closer and stronger. The feeling that stronger foes would arrive would never leave them, if the words of that vampire had any truth to them (which they did).

After all, saving Mundus Magicus from certain erasure was no small feat.

But now the story turns to a former imperial princess, who has resolved her issues of the throne and her powers, and has returned home to her friends. Two years have passed since then. But the question burns in the minds of all White Wings, even for those who have been on Mundus Vetus for all three years...

What now?

 

* * *

 

"Hey again, Konoka, Setsuna."

"We're hanging all right. Negi's pushing himself too hard as usual, so once again I'm smacking him around. Lately though, quite a few White Wings are helping with that too, though it just might be their errm... 'frustration' speaking. We're all thinking about you two, you know, but we're gonna be stronger still."

"Setsuna. I'm not as swift with the blade as you were... but I'm definitely faster than I was before."

"Man, Konoka, I miss your cooking. Yotsuba's gone, so the only competent cook not in a restaurant is Chachamaru. I tried, but... Negi and Nodoka have basically banned me from every kitchen in Mahora. Dammit."

"Speaking of Nodoka, she's become something of an artifact geek. Remember that magic gun Negi had on his wall? She's a better shot than he is. She's definitely improved on her social power, though I worry bits and pieces of Haruna have rubbed off on her."

"Yue-chan too, she's been putting her encyclopedia artifact to good use (that means I have to think less). And she's got some crazy fencing and jumping skills too. Think she learned that while she was with the Araidne Knights. But Konoka, I miss your healing touch. Yue's potions taste like  _crap_. And to nobody's surprise, she actually likes the taste of them."

"Eva-chan got free. That damn bloodsucker managed to figure out how to use my blood to unseal herself... luckily nothing's really changed. I've just been added to her blood donor list.  _Ugh_. Setsuna~! Why can't I just sprout awesome wings like you did (without that demented Paru-chan's help) and just kick her ass in a serious fight like I normally do when she's a jerk?"

"As far as the girls as a whole go, they've been getting real possessive of Negi these days. I pretty much have to call shenanigans every five seconds, especially since the little runt's hit puberty. If I were a more perverse jerk, I'd get a kick out of this, but..."

"...I should probably add that we got new members. See, after we beat up Fate, I had to stay for a year to take care of 'royal business' as the imperial princess. When I came back, Class President Ayaka was there, and boy was she pissed. We kinda had a big fight (even though it was mostly one-sided, that woman would NOT give up), and then we made up. Somewhere along the way, she put two and two together, and now she's part of the team."

"The other newbie is a strange one—she's this chick with guns (Kinda useful since Mana left some time ago and Yuuna's staked out on her own and claimed Makie and Ako as partners). We found her at our front doorstep one day almost a year ago, and we nursed her back to health from near death. She was thoroughly convinced that Negi was a 'main character' and tried to beat him up for it a couple of times for it. Before any more memories of Ako-san's stint three years ago got ruined, we put a stop to that. She's been quite helpful and friendly to us, since, especially since she often takes jobs Mana used to do."

"I'm sorry, Konoka. I wish there was something I could do for your family. Your grandfather's gone... old age somehow finally caught up to him. Even though he left me enough for a full ride it still wouldn't feel right without me working for my own keep. And we haven't seen your dad either. Setsuna, Eishun held you in high respect. He never doubted you even beyond your death."

"Konoka... Setsuna... peace be with you two, okay?"

 

* * *

 

It was finally coming to fruition, a glorious plan two and a half years in the making.

The girl with glasses and long and tight pigtails took one last gander at the massive network of machines, and the grand circle at its center. Various wards, most but not all electronically maintained, dotted the outside of the circle equidistant from each other. Satomi Hakase smiled sadly. "To think I would go to these lengths... Chao would be disappointed. But..." No choice now. All was culminating to this point. "All right, activate the machines to full power!"

"Yes ma'am!" The many faceless college scientists heeded their orders.

Many switches were flicked, and the massive machinery hummed to life. The girl walked to one side of the circle, and began the process that could possibly change everything.

When Mao could see straight again, he saw his form solidifying over the center of that massive circle. If he really was being summoned, he couldn't look as confused as he felt... he had to make impressions! Damn good ones! Taking advantage of the billowing smoke, Mao decided to go for evil and imposing, a tried and true trick. Curling himself before dramatically throwing his arms back, he laughed maniacally, in as deep and dangerous a voice as possible.

The smoke cleared, and the dean slammed his hand down and peered over his glasses, finding himself sneering at... a scientist?

His epic facade broke faster than a china plate at a jackhammer convention. "Wuh?"

"Augh... not exactly what I was expecting, but..." Satomi sighed.

Mao poked the barrier, jerking his finger back when he received a light shock. Pushing against it didn't hurt, but the barrier was sturdy and wouldn't budge. "You summon me to restrain me? What the hell is this?"

"Please hear me out," Hakase said. "I have no intention of enslaving you. I... need your help."

"Reeeaally," Mao regarded her with suspicion. "What exactly would you need my help for, human?"

The girl paused for a bit. "I'm seeking a rare technological artifact... The Devil's Mechanism. Have you heard of it?"

"Devil's Mechanism... hmmm..." Mao pondered. " _Maybe_... what does that thing do? My memory's kinda bad at times."

"The Devil's Mechanism is a device that can create any sort of machinery, from the smallest chips to the biggest robots, instantly in exchange for some sort of energy, perhaps magical energy would suffice," Satomi said. "There should be demons from your world that know of its existence..."

"Oh that thing? Hmmm, lemme think about it... nope! Never heard of it!" Mao shrugged and laughed.

Satomi took a heavy sigh. "Argh, and I was positive those were the right coordinates! Maybe the aiming or the demodulator screwed up somewhere..." She turned back to Mao. "Listen... de-summoning you isn't an easy task, and I'd rather not leave you alone, so you'll have to wait for a period while I find a way to send you home."

"Booorrrrinnngg," Mao yawned. "But fine, have it your way."  _For now, anyway._  He turned back and sat down.

Satomi sighed and frowned before dashing off to the other side of the massive room, barking more instructions to the scrambling scientists. One scientist, however, shouted, "Hakase-sama! Iwai-sama is demanding a new expense report!"

"Ugh..." Satomi groaned rubbing her temples again. "How many things have to go wrong today? That Masashi Iwai's nowhere near as memorable as the old dean Konoemon Konoe."

"Konoe?" Mao raised an eyebrow and turned back to Satomi. He could have  _sworn_  that name sounded familiar.  _Way_  too familiar for him to be contesting with it.

"Konoemon Konoe was our last headmaster. His granddaughter used to be one of my classmates until she disappeared three years ago. Most everyone believes her to be dead..." Satomi trailed off. "Oh, well I suppose you don't care, so let me get back to configuring this thing so I can send you home without giving you a reason to eat me alive," And with that, she marched back into another room.

Oh, but Mao DID care about those details. See, if that letter he just read (which was in his pocket by the way) was any indication, he just found a  _very_  interesting place. While there was a whole lot of noise and activity, the bright lights and barrier made it difficult for anyone to see inside unless they were a certain distance away. This obviously worked in Mao's favor, especially since a portal of darkness ripped like a bubbling brook before opening into a small portal.

Yep, it was that swan boy again. "Sup sir!" Cygnus greeted casually, his head poking out of the portal.

"You managed to follow me?" Mao nearly gasped in surprise, but he quickly shook this off. "Geh, took you long enough!"

"Geez, these guys laid it on pretty thick!" He saw the impressive summoning circle and tight barrier surrounding it. "Luckily, I've got an easy ticket home."

"Actually... no, I don't wanna go home." Mao muttered, a smile creeping onto his face.

"Huh?" Cygnus was taken aback.

"I think somebody knows something about this new overlord we've got," Mao grinned. "Plus this is a  _mad scientist's lab_ , you know! This also happens to be the human world that overlord girlie comes from... a wealth of delicious information and experiments lay at my fingertips! So... can you permanently hold open that barrier or link our world to this one?"

Cygnus reeled back for a moment, but answered. "It's within my power... but it'll take a while if you want me to maintain it."

"And she's actually gonna de-summon me first. Can you break this barrier?"

"Not from here."

"Find a way and do it quickly. You're fast with portals, right?"

"Damn straight!" Cygnus saluted. "I'll be freeing your ass momentarily!" And with that Cygnus dipped back into the portal, leaving only that faint trail of darkness.

Mao harrumphed and went back to sitting quietly and reading his comic book.

 

* * *

 

The bedeviled swan wasted no time. Hopping out of the office and pretty much skating into an open dimensional hole, he couldn't hold back an anticipatory sneer.  _Ha, this worked out even better than I imagined!_ He crowed mentally.  _Not only is she faring well, but the dean is exactly where he needs to be..._

While he did love streaking about at high speeds through the darkness, at least this time around, he had a good excuse—if Mao gets sent back home, he won't get interested in Konoka Konoe again, and the past... he shuddered just thinking about it. He was gonna repair  _that_  immediately.

When his trips through dimensions ended, he found himself on the outer boundaries of what looked like a large town.

Cygnus gazed at the famed Mahora Academy.  _Oh damn, I nearly forgot..._ she _goes here, too. But first, I rescue the dean._  Slipping into a small crowd quietly to avoid the smatterings of protective magic he felt surround the place, Cygnus headed towards where he felt the dean was prisoner.

 

* * *

 

With the training session for the day over, Ala Alba emerged into the real world.

"I'm glad everyone is making good progress," Negi Springfield smiled as he looked upon his fair-sized crew. "As Ala Alba, we need to stay in shape for any challenges that may come."

"Negi-sensei, I am feeling more confident than ever," Ayaka Yukihiro, proud and yet far more subdued, added. "I may not be meant to close the gap between me and Asuna, but I—"

"Can it, Ayaka," Asuna shot back. "I'm still immune to your scents, even if I cancel magic."

"You shouldn't let that power get to your head, Asuna," Ayaka returned Asuna's retort with her own. "Hubris is a dangerous thing to have, speaking from personal experience."

"You should take a leaf from your own book." Asuna turned her back on her former rival, but a wide grin was still visible.

"Not like you could read it," Ayaka smirked back.

"Simmer down, please," Nodoka Miyazaki requested as she followed them.

"It's not a problem, they've improved their friendship over the past few months," Yue Ayase calmly noted. "They rarely drop into a real fistfight these days."

The other girls were talking animatedly, largely ignoring the conversation ahead. That was until...

"Don't get cocky yet, boys and girls," An imperious voice cut through the lively chatter.

The last person to appear in the real world was the unchanging vampire, Evangeline A. K. MacDowell. Despite being free, she largely decided that cultivating Negi and his pupils was infinitely more amusing that terrorizing the countryside, and all the other mages were thankful for it. "We haven't seen anyone who can stand up to us AND be a threat to the peace, but I know that it won't be long before that changes. We don't want a repeat of three years ago, now do we?"

There was a solemn pause—while Eva did not regret her words, she did note their sadness and lowered her voice. "Keep vigilant. Evil doesn't rest—and I'm speaking from personal experience."

There was one who missed that feeling. A girl, almost a woman, with dark hair, a simple dark-green shirt with a jean-skirt and knee-high black socks and shoes, looked at the sudden atmosphere change in complete confusion. "Huh? Am I missing something?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with right now," Yue simply stated to this newcomer.

"...are you sure?" She asked.

She felt a light tap on her shoulder, and found Haruna Saotome behind her. "Word to the wise, Asagi-san: three years ago sucked for us. But if ya gotta know, I bet Negi-kun will help."

"Haruna!" Yue complained, but did little else.

"Why not? This nooblet's gonna be here long term—I can feel it. Might as well make her comfortable."

Asagi, the weary gunner seeking her own starring role, decided it would be a good idea to take up Haruna's advice and get to the bottom of this...

"Just a drink? I don't see the harm," Negi had smiled.

"Thank you~!" Asagi twirled.

 

* * *

 

Since Asagi requested it, Negi met her a while after the Ala Alba training session.

The calm, almost empty parlor was a simple coffee joint owned by one of the mages. Many of the White Wings, and Asagi herself, grew fond of stopping by during some of their more hectic days. The fact that it was a fair ways out of the way of most of the buildings and yet close to the school made it a comfortable place to talk. She could begin in earnest. Nine months of being outside the loop despite being in the loop would come to an end.

"So, Mr. Negi," Asagi began, nursing some tea. "I've been here for a while. And while I'm still not anywhere closer to being a star, I think I like it here. The vampire's kinda scary though."

"Thank you," The now thirteen-year-old teacher smiled. "But what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I got a couple of questions I'd like to ask, and I don't feel comfortable asking them around the other girls..." Asagi said. "I'm not interested in messing with a tight community if it's not going to land me as a star and a hero."

"This isn't another request to take my main character status, is it?"

"No, no no! I'm not doing any such thing!" Asagi declared just a little too loudly. "At least not after the first fifty times!" Negi shot her a look. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Anyway, how do you do it?"

"Huh?"

"How do you have such a large harem? Is it why you're famous?"

Negi struggled and tried not to spit out all of his tea. Instead he wound up swallowing it by force, nearly choking on it. "-Gurk- W-what do you mean?"

"I noticed how all those girls swarm you, Mr. Negi. Especially since you were a former teacher of theirs. It's one of the reasons I was weary about being part of this group at first. A couple of them look  _real_  close." She didn't like the look on Negi's face, because she immediately went on the defensive. "I'm not prying! Not prying! At least about that..."

The dark-haired girl took a deep breath. "Konoka Konoe, Sakurazaki Setsuna... who were they? I've heard those names a couple of times,  _in the past tense_. Look, I seriously don't mean to pry, they seem like a tough deal, but my curiosity is killing me here. I don't like treading on eggshells..."

Negi's face darkened, but only momentarily. He then stared back at Asagi, his eyes filled with a weary sadness she hadn't seen before. "They were dear friends of ours who once attended this school. Some time ago, I took a personal mission, with many of those girls you see assisting me. They too were there..."

"...and they didn't come back." Asagi finished. Her strong desire to know was wavering with that sick feeling of stepping on someone's grave.

Negi grimaced. "No bodies were found. I know the old cliché of assuming someone's dead if the body hasn't been found, but I have proof of death." Negi dug in one of his pockets and pulled out a card. Asagi found herself staring at a young girl in an elaborate costume, her pleasant face shining against a dull magic pattern. One thing she noticed, however, was the distinct lack of... detail on the card. Perhaps the most glaring omission was the added information under the name. "You've seen the girls' pactios in action at least once. These are what dead cards look like."

Asagi sniffled. "Th... that's so tragic! I'm s-s-sorry!" The tears were flowing down her face like an active stream.

"Umm Asagi-san, please don't overdo it for our sake..." Negi tried to ease her.

And suddenly, that dead card flashed. Negi nearly dropped it as if it shocked him. "Huh?"

"W-what was that?" Asagi asked worriedly. "Do dead cards do this too?"

"No, they shouldn't..." Negi hissed. Konoka's card was radiating... dark energy. A dark and yet familiar energy. However, a very  _un_ familiar energy interrupted that. "There's some sort of power nearby! Could that be causing this?" He looked back past the restaurant and over in the direction of the university. That unsettling and uncomfortable feeling must be coming from there...

Immediately, Negi chanted something quickly and pressed a finger to his head.  _Girls! Something's going on in the university area!_

He got an immediate response from Asuna.  _I know, but geez! I'm stuck on the opposite side of a crowded part of campus! I'll either get there or get to a place where you can summon me as soon as possible!_

 _Negi-sensei!_  He heard Nodoka's voice.  _I think it's coming from the science division! Please be careful!_

After hearing various responses of agreement from some of his partners, Negi shut off the telepathic link. He immediately rose and whirled off his seat. "Asagi-san, let's go!"

"Ah! Right!" The gunner-starlet slipped her coat back on and tailed after the rushing Negi.

 

* * *

 

The science lab looked normal on the outside. At least, that's what Negi and Asagi thought.

Kaede Nagase, of course, was already there. "Your speed is always improving." The ninja, however, was still the quickest out of all of them.

"Kaede-san," Negi greeted. Asagi followed suit.

"By the way, it doesn't look like anything happened by force outside. Somebody did report a suspicious individual walking in earlier."

"I see," Negi responded.

"Sounds like power levels are really thick in there," Ku Fei, followed by the Library Trio.

"Finally, action!" Haruna crowed. "Not that I  _want_  evil and disorder, but now I can put my training to the test!" She turned her anticipatory sneer to Asagi. "I wanna see what you've got too, Asagi."

"I'll be glad to show you everything I have!" The gunner twirled.

" _Everything_?" Haruna waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Whoa, whoa! I'm not going in  _that_  route yet!" Asagi reeled back in horror. "I don't know how many main characters can get away with that with their careers intact!"

" _Yet_ , you say..."

"Haruna, Asagi-san..." Yue suddenly piped up. "...please do us all a favor and  _shut up right now_. We have business to do. The others are unfortunately busy or can't make it over here just yet, so we'll have to investigate as we are."

Negi just sort of tittered nervously. Keeping the girls off of each other was often just as tough as keeping them off  _him_. "Yeah, business to do." And with that the party, consisting of Negi, Asagi, the Library Trio, Kaede, and Ku, swung open the doors and walked inside.

The lab building itself didn't seem out of order, save one detail—nobody was around. It was too quiet for this time of day. Alert eyes darted left and right, seeing if there were any signs of life or disorder. Seeing nothing, Negi moved towards the source of power he was feeling. At the door to the basement, he signaled the girls to follow him.

Moving something akin to an amateur SWAT team, Negi and his team stepped quickly and quietly down the stairs and into the massive basement, where an unsettling darkness greeted them.

"Okay, something's obviously  _way_  wrong," Haruna hissed in uncharacteristic quiet.

"I felt something weird when I got to the bottom of the stairs, too," Nodoka added. "I think a Silence Zone might be in effect..."

Then they saw them—the bodies.

Several student scientists (and a few adult ones) were strewn about, as if a high powered tornado had knocked them all asunder. Negi immediately went to the closest body and checked for a pulse. "Looks like they're still alive, just knocked out."

"Same here, too," Kaede affirmed, removing her fingers from another unconscious person. "Who would do something like this?"

The team exchanged looks, but had no answers.

Walking deeper into the darkness, Negi and his crew saw the main room, or at least the beginnings of it. They could hear the sounds of shorted or broken machinery. First guess? "Hakase-san screwed something up, didn't she?" Yue muttered.

It was then that Negi spotted someone crawling towards them on the ground. "A survivor!" He said.

The person edged closer... and at that point, Negi knew something was wrong. Perhaps the fact that this person had an unearthly crawl, or the fact that he felt something dark and malignant as this person approached him.

Then one hand slammed down right when this crawler reached Negi's feet. Raising his head and upper body, the person greeted Negi with a devilish grin and neon-orange eyes. "'Sup." Cygnus was ready to party.

Negi's eyes widened. In seconds, that man sneered and swept a clawed hand towards the boy, blowing him away despite putting up his guard at the last second.

"Negi-sensei!" Nodoka cried in alarm. The other girls immediately dropped into fighting stances.

"Who are you?" The expected angry question came from... all the girls at once.

"Just a wandering darkness," The dark-skinned demon answered, his grin softening but not disappearing. "You'll have to forgive me, but my evil plan to stall all of you must come to fruition. In the meantime..." He held out both hands, darkness swirling about both of them. He then clapped his hands together. "How about we dance?"

"Stalling?" Negi hissed as he recovered. "Nodoka-san! Yue-san!"

"Yes!" Nodoka's Diarium Ejus was summoned immediately. Yue summoned her artifact, analyzing this new foe.

" **Gloria en obscurum**..." Cygnus chanted, letting the darkness flow into himself.

"Watch out, he's coming this way!" Asagi flipped backwards, pulling out dual pistols and firing rapidly. Cygnus however, easily skated past her firing efforts. "Eugh! You little—"

Too bad for her, Cygnus was already in her face. "You'll have to fight harder than that, girlie," He swiveled a bit before his entire right arm swelled with darkness. He smashed the girl with a brutal punch, sending her into a wall. "Although that wasn't  _too_  bad—ah, geez!" He twirled, dodging a gigantic fist aimed for his head.

"You're pretty interesting, but lemme show you my power! INFERNO ANIKI MK. III!" Haruna bellowed. The massive man-golem didn't even bother with just looking intimidating—as soon as it saw that the first punch missed, it aimed a second one. Cygnus skated erratically, trying to shake off the powerful punches, but finally—

"Eeeyyyaaahhh!" Nodoka cried.

"Huh?" Haruna was distracted.

She was distracted enough for the man of darkness to sweep his hand, and a wide blast of darkness tore through her summoned golem like a blade of fire through a popsicle. However, Cygnus did not press his advantage, preferring to enjoy this next part.

"Nodoka!" Both Yue and Haruna chorused.

Nodoka looked like a horror movie victim, her eyes frozen in blank fear, slumped to the ground on her knees. Her book fell to the ground while still open, revealing what she had read (and with the ear piece Auris Lectans attached, also heard). Haruna and Yue peered at its contents.

"Ha! Silly girl, you can't mindread the DARKNESS! So in the meantime: ~This is the song that doesn't end~ Yes it goes on and on my friend~! Some people started singing it not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because..."  _Repeated ad infinitum._

"You  _bastard_ ," Haruna pointed an angry finger at Cygnus, who only laughed like a fifties' homage to Dracula in response. Yue merely pulled out her lance and quietly cursed him. Or was it chanting...?

He got Ku Fei's foot in his face for his efforts. Cygnus tumbled and crashed into the ground. He barely recovered before several throwing stars zoomed in his direction. Cygnus practically scrambled backwards before swirling about to stand himself up. "Damn ninjas—" Ku Fei had pounced forward and landed a flurry of punches in his direction. "YOU LITTLE—"

Cygnus disappeared in a puff of darkness. Ku Fei stopped in confusion, but kept wary.

Seconds later, Cygnus appeared above her. By the time she was aware of his position, she couldn't even get into a proper defensive stance. He crashed his feet onto her back like an anvil dropped from twenty stories, and the ground smacked her fiercely for all of her efforts. "Hmph..." Cygnus curled his hand, shading his left eye.

That was quite the bad move, as if he hadn't seen a gleam between his fingers, he wouldn't have a left eye anymore.

"Aw come the hell on!" Cygnus complained as even more throwing stars sailed straight at him. Kaede landed as her projectiles missed, but a one-two kick knocked Cygnus away from Ku Fei—the real attack. Cygnus hissed as he skated backwards from Kaede's pursuit. He quietly gathered darkness, hoping that this ninja wouldn't notice during her assault.

That smirk on her face told him she did.  _Dammit_!

So he was somewhat surprised when she suddenly fell back, with a cry of "Negi-bouzu!"

He felt, rather than saw, the dark magic he spread all over the place being drawn to a source other than himself. Cygnus saw Negi return to the forefront, his skin with wicked dark swirls and his eyes aglow with magic. "For one who wields the darkness such as yourself, you should recognize this technique."

"Magia Erebea..." Cygnus whispered. "As someone who could manipulate darkness with ease I found no use for such a technique, but it's truly formidable..."

"Experience it firsthand then," In seconds, Negi leapt into the air and twirled into a perfect roundhouse, smashing Cygnus across the face.

The swan man twirled with the kick, but easily got his bearings back. "Not bad!" He crowed.

Negi didn't stop, charging himself with electricity before rushing his opponent again. With grace and power, Negi flowed to a flurry of punches and kicks, not giving Cygnus an opportunity to attack. His fist still cackling with lightning, Negi pulled his combo finisher. " **White Lightning Fist**!" Cygnus, too busy guarding his face, got the fist directly in the stomach...

...or would have, if he weren't faster. "Hehe, I'm a cut above your average demon," Cygnus announced. "All to darkness...!" A rush of dark energy flooded the man's hands, and he shoved Negi backwards with great force. He then started slamming the ground like a crazed bongo player, dark shock waves knocking everyone off their feet and forcing Negi into the air.

The airborne Negi began to chant...

"Howl in terror..." Cygnus murmured. He let loose with a beam of darkness.

Negi countered with his own projectiles. " **Iaculatio Fulgoris**!" Electrified spears rained down on the man of darkness. The dark blast grazed Negi, and Cygnus caught two spears—but only because they pierced his hands.

Tossing aside the electrified spears despite the pain, Cygnus prepared one more attack. "Let me end this..." He snarled, gathering dark energy. "... **Falcis Obscurus**." With the darkness he gathered, Cygnus formed a massive scythe, and swiped at Negi with one decisive blow. The scythe sliced through with wicked ease.

...then Cygnus realized he only grazed him again—not nearly enough to put him out of a fight, even if it knocked him out of range for an easy counter. While still recovering from the sweeping attack, Cygnus looked up to see Negi snickering like a troublemaker. "Huh?"

"Who says  _I_  need to finish you? Now, Yue-san!" Negi shouted.

Cygnus was faintly aware of someone landing behind him. This was nothing special, except he could feel a concentrated source of holy power, which was  _very, very bad_. Figures, since a holy lance went through his gut at precisely the next second.

Needless to say, that hurt. Like the dickens.

Cygnus fell to his knees, barely restraining his desire to scream in absolute pain. This move couldn't even kill him, but for most demons being pinned by an elemental weak point basically meant he'd be moving nowhere for a while. Yue stated as much. "Your obvious elemental weak point can shut you down if delivered between your attacks."

"Grraaauughhh..." Cygnus snarled. Taking on seven opponents, especially ones so organized and specialized as these, could mean the death of you if you didn't plan ahead. But...

Cygnus, despite his pain, simply let a savage grin. "You're too late! The barrier's already broken..."

"What barrier?" Negi asked cautiously, having a slight idea but not wanting to give anything away if he was wrong.

"So you didn't even know... someone took some mighty safeguards when summoning in this lab," Cygnus kept that grin, despite the blood now starting to seep between his teeth. "...but don't take  _my_  word for it, talk to the man himself."

A teenager from beyond the darkness walked into view. His left hand rose slowly, shining with an unholy power. He snapped his fingers. Like lightning, several beams of light smashed into Negi and his gang, crisscrossing each other with rapidly accelerating speed and power.

By the time the attack ended, Negi's entire party lay devastated.

Mao smirked. "Mwa ha ha ha! Is that all you humans got?" He turned to Cygnus, quickly (and painfully) removing that lance. "You shouldn't toy with foes if you're not at my level yet, swan boy."

Negi felt it... the massive power that coincided with the sudden reaction of Konoka's card. Who was this demon boy before him? Were he and the darkness manipulating boy in league with each other? "Grgh..." Negi began to stand himself up. "Who are you?" He directed his question to the dangerous newcomer.

"Oh?" Mao regarded Negi with curiosity and amusement. "You're all still alive. Maybe you're not that weak. I'm Mao, Overlord and Dean of the Nether Institute, and I'm here for  _evil business_." His face twisted to a toothy, mad scientist grin.

 _Negi! What's going on down there?_  Asuna's mental voice broke through.

 _He's... really strong. A summoned demon with powers I've never seen before,_  Negi answered.

 _Summon me_ _ **at once**_ _!_  Negi almost flinched from the force of that voice, and had to hold back some amusement as well. Despite all that she had been through, her personality had refused to change.  _Let me hand his ass to him!_

 _Fine..._  Negi grinned, knowing that there would be no convincing her otherwise. With speed, he grabbed the card of his primary partner and put it in front. " **Summon**!  **Ministra Negi: Kagurazaka Asuna**!"

Mao noticed, but merely kept his eyes on the spectacle.

In a bright flash, a magic circle appeared on the ground, followed by Asuna appearing. Her huge sword was already at her side. Asuna didn't even take five seconds before pointing her sword at Mao. "Who the  _hell_  do you think you are, trying to hurt my friends?"

"You're too late for introductions!  **But**... I can  _easily_  arrange for you to get beaten," Mao cracked his knuckles.

"Get lost!" However, someone else had something to say about that. Mao reacted quickly to catch a magic bullet aimed for his head—and judging by the fact that it still managed to pierce his skin, it meant one thing...

"Geh..." Mao tossed aside the bullet and ignored his wound to see Asagi returning to the forefront. "...you were here the whole time, Asagi? And to think you left friends back in the Netherworld..."

"Unlike there, even if I'm not a main character,  _people give a damn about me here_ ," Asagi shot back. "I don't need  _your_  help! Let's show him a thing or two, Kagurazaka!"

"It's  _Asuna_. Cut the formalities!" Asuna shot back, but nevertheless dropped into a fighting stance.

"Well!" Mao sneered. "Thanks for giving me an excuse to go shounen villain on all of you! I don't have my sword on me, so this obnoxious holy lance will have to do. Consider yourself lucky!" ("Give me back my lance!" Yue shouted, but Mao ignored her.) And with that, Mao lunged.

Asuna stepped to the side and parried his lunge. Sweeping forward with her sword, she tried to knock him down. Mao was far too quick for that, though; he dodged skyward and jabbed at her again. Despite her bulky sword she still managed to guard his attack, though this time around the force of Mao's jab was enough to send her backwards a considerable distance.

Asagi bellowed, "I'm all over this!" With speed impossible to most humans, she pulled out a green rocket-launcher-esque weapon. She fired twice, somehow stiffening herself enough to minimize the recoil.

Mao found himself on the business end of two flaming gobs of energy. He scrambled backwards as the gobs exploded into columns of fire. Annoyed, he braced himself as he inevitably saw Asagi dart forward and follow up her attack with several more magically charged bullets.

"You haven't changed much!" Mao smirked as he took a new route and planted his hands on the ground, stood up on them, and whipped his leg forward, catching Asagi and sending her sprawling. "You still don't take surprise attacks well..." He then grabbed the lance again and followed up with a powerful slash that unleashed a huge energy wave.

Asagi could only duck.

Uncertain if that wave was magic, however, Asuna had to sprint to one side, landing into a perfect handspring and narrowly evading uncertain pain. Unfortunately, as she corrected herself, Mao was already above her, his left hand burning with power.

"Rrraugh!" Mao's hand slammed against Asuna's chest with explosive results. And he wasn't even done yet. "Pathetic—!" He lifted her up, and a second green explosion made her disappear in a blast of smoke. Ah, how he loved Blast Finger...

So he was quite shocked when Asuna emerged, completely unaffected by the attack.

The girl gave her own devious grin. "Demons don't know 'bout my magic cancel!"

"Wh-what?" Mao, completely shocked, stumbled back. "That's not even fair!"

"More where that came from!" Asagi crowed from her vintage point. She leapt up into the air, aiming her twin guns. Charging massive energy, she fired two shots at Mao.

"Geh..." Mao snarled, flipping out of the way as the first shot crashed into the ground and opened a strongly lit magic circle. A second blast opened a powerful flare on top of circle, which would've had serious devastation on Mao had he not dived out of range. The bad news, though, was that the still recovering Cygnus got hit anyway (He went something like "GYYYAAAAAUUUGGHH!" but nobody could replicate the exact scream.).

While the attack still flared, Mao stood up again. He smirked—Asagi likely exhausted herself with that move—she'd be easy prey, and then he could focus on that strange girl who was immune to his magic.

Shame though—the magic immune Asuna was already focused on him.

Hiding in the insane magic blast, Asuna leapt into the sky, sword at the ready, just as the attack finally stopped. "RRRAAAAUUUUGGHHH!"

Mao snarled. He only had one chance... he whipped back with the lance and stabbed at Asuna just as she swept her sword at him. Both warriors stood at a deadlock, uncertain if their attack landed the decisive blow.

Then Mao felt his loss. Because he had been summoned, he found himself eroding from this world. "W-what? NO! Me, the great Overlord of Evil Academy...  **beaten**? IMPOSSIBLE!" And Mao screamed as he eroded completely from this world, much to the complete horror of Cygnus and the complete amazement of Negi and his other partners.

Silence returned.

Asuna grinned. "Ha, no matter how powerful they are... if they get summoned, I banish 'em with ease!"

"That's Asuna for you," Yue said. "To be honest, I didn't think you'd pull it off so quickly—that demon is levels above any of us."

"Awww!" Ku Fei complained. "I wanted to give death blow!"

Negi rose. "Thank you, Asuna-san..." He turned to Cygnus, who had... somewhat recovered. "And as for you..."

Cygnus still flashed that nasty grin of his, despite still being weak.

Negi spotted something he hadn't noticed before—a wisp of darkness in the center of the massive summoning circle. And that wisp was now becoming a massive swirl of darkness—a dimensional rift. Negi tensed to do something, but by then it was far too late.

The darkness opened up, and Mao appeared, as if he were casually riding an elevator. "Hey guys! Did you miss me? I'd thought I'd keep in touch!"

All humans in the room let their jaws hit the floor.

Asuna snarled and dropped into a fighting stance, but Mao, now with an  _actual_  sword, simply shot forward and knocked her weapon out of her hands. It sailed into the ceiling and crashed, before transforming back into a card and slowly sailed down in front of the shocked magic-canceling girl.

"Mwa ha ha! Did you really think you could trump an Overlord? I threw that fight so I could test out swan boy's portal!" The demon dean taunted, ignoring Negi and Asuna's increasingly angry stares. "Although I have to applaud you humans. A highly technological summoning lab, with experiments as far as the eye can see? A no-frills specialized team designed to take out massive threats? This is  _definitely_  worth staying for!"

"What do you mean 'stay'?" A voice cut in.

Those who were conscious turned to see a very angry Satomi stomp towards Mao. "I told you I would send you home without incident! You trash my lab, trash my potential test sub—err I mean friends and coworkers, and now you managed to completely open a portal to the demon plane! What do you have to say for yourself?"

Mao paused for a moment. Of the people he's seen so far, the only other major threat was his original summoner, who likely knew a lot of things  _he wanted_  to know. While it'd be easy to just beat up people to stay around, he couldn't do very much if his original purpose got denied to him. "I've figured out the mathematical formula for maintaining this portal, no matter what you guys do so there's no stopping me?" Mao tried.

"Prove it." Satomi coolly responded.

Mao strode over to some ruins, where he found a pencil and paper. He scrawled on the paper like mad before heading back towards Satomi, handing her the paper.

She looked at it. She threw it away.

She faced Mao with a completely serious look. "I want to have your children."

Everyone else in the room crashed.

"Mwaaaa ha ha ha ha!" Mao crowed. "I  _knew_  you'd see things my way!"

"What the hell does that thing say?" While still smarting from Mao's original painful attack, Yue was well enough to walk over to the discarded paper. What she saw was a massive scrawl of numbers and math, followed by a small note at the bottom: "I can provide this place with MORE FUNDING (and experiments too!)" Yue sighed. "Just our luck... he's also a mad scientist."

"I have to deal with him here, too?! Oh noooooo," Asagi wailed.

"If he's not going to cause problems, I don't see the need to worry," Kaede observed. "I'd just keep a good eye on him and the dark-wielding one."

Haruna nerd-raged from her spot on the floor. "This isn't fair! Satomi's gonna get laid before I do?"

"Your sense of priorities is horrible as always," Yue muttered.

"Please don't remind me," Nodoka agreed.

Negi pulled out Konoka's card. It was no longer radiating with power. However, it was still glowing softly. Standing tall, he said, "Mao-san. Darkness-wielder-san."

"Call me Cygnus," Cygnus immediately replied.

"Hmmm? What do you want, human?" Mao raised an eyebrow turning to Negi. Both he and Cygnus stared in Negi's direction.

"Someone who was once near and dear to me died, and this card's power with it," Negi said, showing Konoka's apparently not-so-dead card. "But ever since you two showed up, it's been reacting strangely. Do you know anything about this?"

This was news to Negi's harem, who all immediately swarmed behind him. "Konoka's card?" Asuna gaped.

Cygnus shrugged. "I don't know. I have no clue how that card works."

"Hmmm?" Mao stalked closer and looked at the card. "Her name is Konoka Konoe? That makes things really interesting then!" He took a glance at Satomi before looking back at Negi. "The whole reason I had swan boy break my barrier to stay here at first was so I could find more information about this Konoka Konoe.

"There is a new Overlord in my universe that goes by that name, and  _I_  want to know more about her."


	6. Chapter 5: Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mao compares notes with Ala Alba, who reflect what happened three years ago. And a dark secret is learned....

"So this  _Konoka Konoe_  resided here before..." Mao muttered. While still in a good mood from touring Mahora's science lab and all the shiny materials in it, that annoying Negi Springfield kept insisting on trying to figure out what happened to what was apparently an old friend of his. Well, Mao  _did_ want to find out more, so he and Satomi came to a stop in the girl's smaller and more private lab room. Negi and Asuna followed, with Cygnus, Nodoka and Yue bringing the rear. The others he had fought ran off to report somewhere, but doubtless they would return.

"Yes she did," Negi answered, now that they were slightly more comfortable. "She was a dear friend of ours."

"Her dying mucked up so many things," Satomi added, though knowing that her pragmatism wouldn't go well over the others, continued, "...but I miss her too."

"Wai—wait a damn second... You said you knew things about Konoka..." Asuna began testily to Mao. "But so far you've only been asking us questions!"

"Nooo, I said I wanted to know more about this Konoka, because there's an overlord in my place that goes by that name!" Mao corrected, surprisingly in the right. "You just assumed I knew more about the Konoka I'm thinking of!"

"We do need to know we're on the same page here," Negi added. "The only reason we bothered in the first place is because this card is reacting funny from  _you_."

"You sure about that, good sir?" Cygnus spoke up, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe it wasn't reacting to us so much as it was reacting to how I got us here. Our portal is an actual link to the demon world, where a Konoka we know resides in. If that card's a link to the living, then maybe we're on the same page. Should be, anyway."

"So she really is alive?" Nodoka asked.

The members of the Ala Alba present shined with hopefulness.

"Ha, casting aside your friend like she was dead, when she could be just off somewhere in our world!" Mao dropped casually and callously. "You guys must be horrible friends."

Of course, Asuna snarled, rage bubbling in her face. " _Enough bullshit_. Why the hell do you want to know so much about her past life, anyway?!"

"I might answer that question if you tell me more about what led her to my world," Mao answered, voice cool despite his intense stare.

"But I sure as hell won't answer that unless you tell me how you know of her in the first place."

"Asuna..." Negi began. He was growing pissed, too, but he surely didn't want this getting too much worse...

"I told you," Mao answered. "We got here by complete coincidence."

"Bull.  _Nobody_ , from Hell or otherwise, comes up here randomly mentioning the Konoe name without reason or purpose. Spit it out."

"Asuna!" Negi barked fiercely, and she stopped dead in her tracks. Negi could feel the tension simply choking everyone in the room—it had to stop somewhere. "I'm sorry, but—" he then noticed Asuna was breathing heavily, as if trying to relax. Seeing as for now the tension had finally died, he turned back to the two demons.

Mao shrugged. "Well, I take back what I said earlier (So I can use it later). There's something about your magic that kinda off sets me. Namely," he whirled to Asuna and pointed viciously at her. "Why are  _you_  completely  _immune_  to it?"

Asuna stuck out her tongue. "I told you, I can  _cancel_  magic. But I  _will_  say it's hereditary, so don't even bother trying to extract it." She wisely kept quiet about the other ways outside forces could tap into her power.

Satomi sulked. "Trust me, I've already tried."

"We advise you don't try again," Yue added matter-of-factly.

"Well, at least I can't say you humans are boring," Mao lost his irritation as quickly as it had formed, and he sat down with a more mirthful than dangerous sneer, much to the amusement of Cygnus and the confusion of the Ala Alba. "I mean, it defies all convention! The male lead I'm looking at has a freaking harem at his call for crying out loud!"

Negi once again pulled a perfect spit-take at the accusation. "Where is everybody getting this idea from?!"

"Probably the fact that you still surround yourself with silly women who'd throw their lives away for you," A cold voice cut through, turning the crowd over to the door. All eyes fell upon the diminutive but no less threatening shape of Evangeline. A. K. McDowell. Flanked by (a horribly reluctant) Asagi and Ayaka, came through the doorway. Both non-vampires sent apologetic looks to the rest of the gang, but Negi only had a slight look of surprise at Eva's visit. He showed no signs of panicking otherwise.

That job was for Satomi.

But before she could make any hasty exit, though, Evangeline easily pointed an accusatory finger in her direction. " _Hakase_. You have  _balls_  summoning high level demons  _on school grounds_. You're even more of a lunatic than Chao was. Or will be. Whatever!" She decided not to think about temporal mechanics, lest her brain hurt before she was finished ranting. "Don't even think about running, I know where you hide. And Negi? I don't remember teaching you to lose to seedy nerd demons and swans." Mao and Cygnus bristled when they heard the comment, but that was more due to surprise about her knowledge of them rather than the insult.

"Excuse me?!" Asuna leapt to his defense. " _We beat the swan_!"

Cygnus felt some figurative knife stab him and deflate his ego somewhere, but before he could even defend himself, Eva continued her rant, addressing Asuna. "Look here. Swan boy may  _look_  like an idiot, but if that power I'm feeling from him is any indication, he was toying with you. I do admit he was also underestimating you, and you were wise to take advantage of that. But face the facts:  _you still lost_."

"She's right," Negi sighed in defeat. "Seeing a person with that much power trounce us in a surprise attack..." Asuna sunk at that, out of options.

Mao had, up until that point, merely looked on at the exchange between the vampire and her apparent pupils. But the apparent leadership that both the harem male lead and this vampire bore was too good to pass up now. "The more I know about this place, the more exciting it is. Sure, you humans are weaklings compared to ones  _I_ know, but you are by far the most entertaining weaklings I've seen, and now that I see a high daylight walker amongst you, I'm even more intrigued." And Mao began to huff and puff like a sweaty nerd who just got his hands on the newest hentai manga.

Asagi, while having seen him like this before, still didn't quite like it. "I told you he's an ultimate creep for an overlord!"

"Quiet, girl," Evangeline admonished. "I've seen many drooling idiots with a lot of power, and he isn't any different." The vampire regarded the seedy demon and his dark-skinned cohort, eyes narrowing dangerously. "So, tell me your purpose here. Surely it isn't to just study humans because Hakase looked like your dream date?"

"Heh, despite your appearance, you must be a mentor for these humans," Mao concluded. "Furthermore, even if you're a high daylight walker, you're still a vampire. Where does your blood come from? Ah, that's right. They aren't just your apprentices, they're your food."

"Hmph," Evangeline muttered, a savage grin on her face. "A slightly more observant fool than I thought." The sharper of Team Negi, minus Negi himself, immediately wanted to protest the implications, but Evangeline immediately shut them down with one glare. Negi, however, just shrugged, and Asuna turned her head away in halfhearted disdain. "But don't bother changing the subject,  _I want to know why you're here_. I doubt you'll have anywhere as easy a time with me as you had with my apprentices." And with that, Evangeline showed a claw, glistening with dark magic.

"Mwahaha! Are you challenging me?" Mao boasted, adjusting his glasses with the push of one finger. "I'll be glad to tell you exactly what I told them before you arrived—you intrigue me, so I want to know more. And I'll be glad to pound that delicious information right out of you!" The mad scientist overlord swept into a fighting stance to meet Evangeline's.

Hakase looked like Armageddon had arrived. Horrified that a fight was about to break out in her office, she looked to and fro upon the growing conflict, uncertain about what to do. Luckily, though, Negi decided that a fight breaking out here was seriously bad news. The young mage lifted up a finger. "Hey, Mao-san, I'll tell you a story! ...just please, don't fight in here."

Evangeline sighed in mock disappointment. Mao regarded him with interest and suspicion, as did Cygnus, both giving him expectant looks. "What...  _kind_  of story?" Mao asked.

"It's the story of us, really," Negi answered. When Asuna looked like she was going to object on grounds that Mao was still mysterious, Negi simply shot her a look, and she relented—somewhat. With that out of the way, he continued. "It all started when I came here at the age of ten..."

And quietly, with a little bit of help from Asuna and his other Ministra, Negi told the tale of him and class 3-A, and their general adventures, from his first arrival, to his encounter with Evangeline, the field trip to Kyoto, Count Hermann's attack, the Festival, and eventually their trip to the Magic World. Cygnus was actually a fairly respectful listener; Mao kept bugging them about magic details, but kept strangely quiet with every mention of Konoka. Asagi and Ayaka, who only heard of bits and pieces of these adventures, listened with intensity. It's safe to assume they left out the perverted and romantic things.

"The regal ball Godel-san held was our last ticket out of here—but with reason to believe Fate was on the move and time running out, we left soon after we discovered Anya's location, and by proximity, Fate's base of operations. It was there we learned that Asuna had been switched with a fake. The real Asuna was kidnapped, and was slowly being used to destroy that world..." Negi knew right about now is where having tact while still telling the truth would be tricky.

"Destroy?" Mao blinked. He was going to ask how, but then he put two and two together before the question could leave his lips. He instead wound up saying. "Naturally, your obnoxious power. Still... destroying it? Omnicidal maniacs are so  _stupid_!" He shook with indignant rage. "You can't press the reset button on the world if there's  _no freaking world left_! Whatever happened to old fashioned World Domination?"

"A forgotten art, sir," Cygnus supplied helpfully in that vaguely sinister voice of his. "Largely because everyone else was doing it, and people grew tired of villains doing this while lacking proper motivations and influences."

"I think you're completely missing something here," Yue muttered, but she was ignored for the time being.

"Really, Lifemaker wanted my powers to use the energy and rewrite the world or something," Asuna rattled off. "He called it 'saving', but I don't get it, and trying to just makes me depressed." The not-so-young princess grumbles something about being possessed by lunatics and gripes.

"In our final hour, we launched a blitz attack on Fate and his minions, hoping it'd be enough to defeat him and rescue our friends," Nodoka added. "Konoka-san and Setsuna-san were there with us."

Cygnus and Mao exchanged looks.

"It was intense enough to almost be a stalemate," Yue said. "Fate's followers were almost as determined as we were, especially since Jack Rakan had defeated them earlier."

"Who the hell is that?" Mao raised an eyebrow.

"You don't want to know," Evangeline grumped.

"Is he one of those broken types conveniently kicked to the side when he'd be the most useful?"

"In this case, yeah... but enough about that," Negi's voice dropped to an almost quiet murmur. It seemed like someone flipped a switch, and every native to Mahora not named Evangeline grew somber. "...this was the same battle where we lost Konoka-san and Setsuna-san."

"Really..." Mao muttered. "If they kicked the bucket and wound up on our world, they'd be prinnies!" He got annoyed (or angry) looks from Asuna, but mostly ignored them. Still... "Keep going."

Negi continued onwards, sparing the details but telling the gist of it. "Most of us split up to deal with a respective minion of Fate's... I dealt with Fate himself. Tsukuyomi-san, if you remember, has a history with Setsuna-san. She and Konoka-san engaged Tsukuyomi together on the main roof, but..."

At this point, Asuna stood up, snarling. "If it's one thing I remember before the class brought me back... it was seeing Konoka fall to her death." Asuna was shaking now, as if she would fall to a complete rage at any moment.

"Death, huh?" Cygnus asked. "Did you see it?"

The members of Ala Alba exchanged glances.

Asuna would have gotten angrier, but Cygnus sounded earnest and not mocking despite his nature. "Tsukuyomi stabbed her. I think—maybe she was jealous of Konoka or something. Either way, Konoka fell off of ruins with Tsukuyomi's sword through her stomach... that's when everything went to hell, and ironically, went to hell in our favor."

Oddly, Mao kept quiet this time, and so did Cygnus.

"All we could hear for a moment was Setsuna-san's anguished cry... and her chasing after Konoka-san..." Yue murmured, her voice shaking. "We never saw either again."

"Yeah, seeing her..." Asuna was quivering, balling up a fist. "...even in whatever state I was in, it was enough for me to grow angry and somehow regain my old self. Once that happened, all I saw was red..." She remembered that fury, the anti-magic that was supposed to doom the world they were in drawing back into her. She wanted to  _absolutely destroy_ the creature that dare skewer her best friend—and she almost did.

"With Asuna like that, and me feeling (and accidentally using) that hate, Fate couldn't stand up to our group," Negi added. "We defeated him easily—the real challenge was bringing Asuna back down to normal."

"I still didn't see straight," Asuna confessed. "After I pretty much sent Tsukuyomi to the hospital, it took the whole class that was there, even Negi, to bring me down back to earth. Even then, my powers weren't under control."

"At the time, I had to keep focused on the mission, and I had faith that Setsuna-san could rescue Konoka-san in mid-flight, but..." Negi sighed. "By the time we could mount a search for them, it was too late. The power to the magic gate had to be fortified or  _nobody_  was going home."

"I sent everyone else home instead, though they were all against it and I was in a little better spirits," Asuna weaved between Negi's words—after all, it was the two royalty who had the most to tell. "I opted to stick around for a year to make sure my powers would get back in control,  _and_  make sure the Magic World didn't erode. But most of all, I wanted to find some proof that Konoka and Setsuna were okay..."

Negi murmured. "A week later, their cards went dead—our only proof, yet the most sound fact that they died."

"Since then, we've been building up our strength in their name, solving some minor skirmishes here and there. Which leads us to now," Yue said. "Your attack is the first big thing to happen in a good while, and it brought Konoka to the forefront again."

"You understand, right?" Negi begged, holding up the strangely glowing card of Konoka's. "We have to make sure that she's alive, or at least figure out what's happened to her!"

"And Setsuna too!" Asuna interjected.

There was pause from the two demons in the room. Mao took an even gaze at everyone in the room. However, it was Cygnus who spoke first. "It's too dangerous a chance for the likes of you. We don't know where she is in the Netherworld. Furthermore, the Netherworld is a brutal and random place, and from what I've seen of you guys you'd handle the minions just fine, but the bosses around there would use your bones as toothpicks, and they like surprise parties."

"Ambush bait?" Mao raised an eyebrow. "Anyone without plot armor would be dead in seconds."

"My point exactly."

"Could you refrain from using random terms most people won't understand, please?" Ayaka spoke for the first time since arriving.

"But there must be a way to communicate with Konoka-san..." Negi's voice dropped, but the desperation in his voice was still clearly there. There was another round of silence, as Ala Alba once again exchanged glances, and the two demons continued to stare impassively.

It was Evangeline who broke the silence. "You have a pactio card, so try and summon her, you idiot."

Negi looked back at the vampire. "Would it work? Being in a completely different dimension might put it out of range."

Mao suddenly stood up. "You should have this girlie help you," He pointed to Satomi. "If she had all the right charms to summon  _me_ , then  _surely_  she could lend you the power to summon your old friend." Sneering like the deranged nerd he was, Mao continued. "I want to see what's so special about this... yuri girlie myself."

Negi returned his nerdish evil with an even stare. "She's a good friend we all miss. Nothing else matters." Surprisingly (to Negi at least), Mao backed off.

* * *

It was finally coming to fruition: a glorious reunion three years in the making.

The girl with glasses and long and tight pigtails took one last gander at the massive network of machines, and the grand circle at its center. Various wards, most but not all electronically maintained, dotted the outside of the circle equidistant from each other. This time around though, Negi was at its center, placing down the oddly glowing card of his former ministra. Satomi Hakase exchanged glances with most of Ala Alba. Mao and Cygnus hung back with Evangeline, still regarding the entire process with muted fascination. "Hopefully, this will work."

"It'd better," Haruna said. "Who knows what will happen if something screws up?"

"Don't jinx it, Haruna," Yue reprimanded softly.

Satomi ignored their bickering and flipped a switch. "Okay, now! Negi-sensei!"

Negi focused himself, recalling the magic that allowed him to draw his partners... would it work? He'd damn well try. "Ministra Negi... Konoe Konoka!"

Rushing energy shot out from the card and the wisp of darkness underneath it, repeating like a constant sound wave. There was a sudden snap in energy, noticed only by the three demons in the back, and even they only gave a cursory blink when the energy returned to radiating as normal. From the center rose the vague outline of a familiar figure.

The energy stopped, and there stood a familiar body, back turned to everyone. Everyone stared in silence, shock, and disbelief.

"Konoka-san?" Negi ventured.

The figure turned around. It looked like Konoka, the same Konoka they all knew three years ago...

...but Negi felt something was horribly wrong. "What...?" He began.

His first clue was the disfigured, undead face and very large and misshapen arm heading towards him. As he guarded against the attack, only one thing crossed the minds and left the panicked mouths of everyone else in the room.

"ZOMBIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!"

* * *

"Your great friend got turned into a zombie?" Mao complained. After an epic fight broke out (which only ended after Asagi took a rocket launcher to the face of this supposed Zombie Konoka and blew her(?) to smithereens), Ala Alba took a moment to recover their bearings, and remember their disappointment.

"No way, that couldn't be..." Negi murmured. His voice rose when he turned back to Mao. "I'm sure of it. I  _felt her_... she had to have been there!"

Nodoka and Yue were pouring through their artifacts, seeing if the rules could be altered in some way. "According to what you have here, there shouldn't have been anything wrong with the summoning at all," Yue explained. "Everything was appropriately powered, too..."

There was much debate and small arguing, but in the end, it was a single cry of " _Shit_..." that put an end to it. All eyes turned to Cygnus, who looked straight up tensed and horrified, if only for a brief moment. The shock disappeared, though; a more thoughtful expression took over his features. "So that flicker wasn't my imagination... somebody actually ran interference..."

"Oh ho, Swan Boy comes through with his suspicious knowledge of things!" Mao crowed, to which Cygnus immediately shot back "Why is my knowledge suspicious?" Mao however, continued. "I felt something too when that summon went off."

"What are you guys talking about?" Asagi queried, the conversation going over her head. It drew Negi and the gang closer as well.

Yue apparently came across something, as evidenced by her sudden gasp and reading the words aloud. "Apparently, there have been a few cases were someone was able to interrupt certain kinds of summons and replace them with something else at the last minute. Most people attempting to summon specific demons from across a plane have often pulled out completely different demons as a result." This sent Satomi into a random coughing fit, but only Evangeline passed her any cursory glance for it. Mao took mental note but did nothing else. "It takes someone of considerable power, or equally strong wards, to do the replacing."

Cygnus sighed and then spoke again. "And with you pulling a zombie of her likeness... that gives us some good news and some bad news regarding your friend," He looked around at everyone, making sure they were listening. "The good news—she's definitely alive, and I bet she's the overlord Mao and I have been talking about."

Ala Alba exchanged glances and a few words of relief and excitement. But someone had to spoil the party—Asuna noticed the word "overlord" used in close proximity to Konoka several times, and called them out on it. "You've been talking about it several times now... what's an overlord, and why do you think Konoka's one?"

Mao laughed. "An overlord is one of the most powerful demons around. As a matter of fact, you're looking at one!" All eyes were on him, for just a moment.

"Konoka-san... a demon?" Negi asked. "Why would she be a demon?"

"I'm pretty sure at least one of you recall the legend of someone who killed a thousand demons and became one himself," Cygnus answered. "Though it's not guaranteed that was what established her as an overlord, it more than answers why she might not be human, and why your card is acting funny."

Still, the news that Konoka could be a demon didn't sit quite well with everyone... but only for a moment. They easily recalled she did have a half-demon for a partner, plus their run-ins with demons proved they weren't always savage and nasty. Negi shrugged. "It doesn't really matter in the long run—I still want to rescue her."

"Hmph," And with yet another turn, Mao suddenly became much more serious, though his glee had not completely disappeared. "Any demon powerful enough or with a good enough body count can become an overlord, but it takes someone special to be a ruler. That I learned the hard way." He pushed up his glasses with a finger once more.

"Which brings me to the bad news," Cygnus added. "I know of only one group who's strong enough to interfere with summoning, and if they've got their eyes on this Konoka, you guys don't stand a chance. She's under their jurisdiction now."

"You think that scares us?" Haruna challenged back. "We've survived the wrath of the frickin' Life Maker (and Asuna)!"

"It won't matter," Cygnus responded. "Not to Ars Goetia."

That name meant nothing to Ala Alba, but Evangeline and Mao raised their eyebrows. "Aren't those guys a Dark Assembly of sorts?" Mao asked. "I've only remember reading about them at some point."

"Yeah, I've run across some of their members..." Cygnus crossed his arms.

Mao sneered. "Heh, in that case, if this Konoka had recently been appointed Overlord, then she'll have to answer to a Dark Assembly at some point to get anything done!"

"...and Ars Goetia is one of the most aggressive ones out there." Cygnus muttered.

"I can already smell the plot relevant crimes she'll have to answer to!"

"Screw that crap! How are we going to rescue Konoka?!" Asuna ignored their doom forecasts and got straight to the point.

"You're not giving Konoka-brat enough credit," Evangeline suddenly spoke up. "We've been surviving this long without her, and since we can confirm that she's alive and not in danger of dying quickly, surely we can wait a little while longer."

"But..."

" _No buts_ ," Evangeline snarled. "You've got a  _nerd demon_  and  _swan_  making fun of you, and you all are still embarrassingly weak. If you want to be strong enough to go send these clowns back to their world and follow them to go rescue our little healer then you're going to have to play by their rules and  _get back to level grinding_!"

"Yes Master..." Was the collective answer and sigh from the remaining members of Ala Alba as they marched out of the office.

The three demons were the last remaining. Before Mao and Cygnus could consider creeping after the group, the vampire stopped the other two with just a few words. "Watch your step. I know at least one of you is up to something, and if it brings harm to my apprentices, I can't vouch for you being in one piece anymore."

Cygnus knew he was in dangerous territory now, but he didn't back down.

But did that intimidate Mao? Not a chance. "Wouldn't dream of it! Why would I deny myself the chance to see so many fine specimens of humans?" He strolled right out the door, the other two following him. It was taking all of his strength not to drool like he usually did. "Something big is brewing, and I wouldn't miss this ultimate experiment for the Netherworld."

"And what kind of experiment is that?"

"The only one I couldn't watch when  **I**  was under it! The birth of a true overlord."

* * *

It was business as usual in Gehenna.

And by business, it means the usual swarm of demons being silly and making good food instead of tormenting souls or whatever.

"This was a  _great_  recommendation!" Flonne sung happily. "Thank you for showing me the wonders of the Zombie Rider DVD boxset!"

"No problem!" Konoka tittered. "I always loved playing the video game back in the day, and the show turned out excellent too!"

"Who knew humans could cook up stuff this good?" Lucas smiled from his high vantage point on a chandelier somewhere. "Zombie Rider looks so cool! Wonder if he's actually in a netherworld somewhere?" He looked down to see Konoka suddenly stiffen. "Errrmmm... Lady Konoka?"

The usual noise dropped to complete silence. Konoka's tail twitched like a nervous cat in a field of angry dogs. The young overlord shook for a bit before suddenly darting to the left towards a hallway, just as Lucas felt some shape dash over him and crash where Konoka was just moments before. Said shape snarled for a bit, but even the boy on the chandelier saw the frown twist into a nasty grin.

Of course... it was Priere, once again trying to goad Konoka into a fight. "C'mon, you know you want to!" She cackled, pursuing the younger overlord with fervor and demented glee. "If you don't fight some more and level up, I'm going to be the  _least_  of your worries!"

"Noooo!" Konoka whined, flying and running away while trying not to get one-shotted by the overzealous fallen nun. "I don't want to die today!" She scrambled down the hall, took a hard left, and burst through a door leading to a winding staircase, leaving behind the concerned shouts of Flonne.

Priere almost tore through the door right behind her, but the demon nun punched open the door and at once felt a familiar, awful presence. Or at least awful in her opinion. She hesitated for a brief moment—and that turned into her undoing. Flonne and Lucas were immediately upon her.

Snarling as she dodged Flonne's holy arrows, Priere hissed, "Dammit, why do you insist on getting in my way?!"

"We're not letting you harass her!" The fallen angel shouted back, desperate to keep her away from the young overlord, despite the threat having already disappeared.

* * *

"At least  _someone_  is sane around here," Lunzard griped, strumming a table with his fingers as Satsuki cleaned up her cooking wares. "Thanks to those virtual  _clones of loooove_  I can't even include  _myself_  on the list! How do you do it?!"

"It's called bonding," Satsuki explained. "You should try it sometime."

"You're just as busy as I am, picking up after their messes!" Lunzard complained. "She's an  _overlord_ , and she's wasting time with all of her new  _friends_  watching movies and having sleepovers when she should be investing in far more evil activities!"

"She lost a good deal of her later teen years to sleep and tragedy," Satsuki nearly rounded on him, but her normally soft, kind demeanor wasn't gone. "I think she's entitled to catch up on at least a few of those things. Though you do have a point..."

"That's not a good excuse. I lost most of  _my_  childhood thanks to that damn br—" Lunzard's continued tirade ran short as he heard a clatter of mess and the sound of Priere's impromptu training attacks once again being thwarted. He blinked for a moment, recognizing the particular creak of those doors from anywhere. "...I haven't heard that door open in years."

Satsuki didn't hear much of anything—apparently those bat-like ears on Lunzard weren't just unusual demon characteristics. "Where does it go?" She asked, filing away Lunzard's complaints for another time.

"Down to the lower library. The Dark Assembly, or Ars Goetia, or whatever they called themselves used to be there before the events three years ago..." He stopped for a moment. If the lower library had been unchanged since that mess, and the young overlord was possibly as mentally unstable as he saw when they first met almost a week ago...

"GAH!" He jumped up in horror.

After sharing his shock temporarily, Satsuki blinked and asked "What's wrong?"

"SHE CAN'T GO DOWN THERE!" Lunzard bellowed.

"Why?" She was picking up his urgency, but not as nearly as much.

"If she learns what's down there... no, if her memories come back or get forced back in, there's no telling what she'll do!" Lunzard immediately left the table and dashed off.

Satsuki didn't see what he was panicking about, but she couldn't shake that awful feeling that wrapped itself around her body as she strode after him, leaving the rest of her mess behind.

* * *

Konoka stepped down into the library, greeted with silence and an entire wing she'd never been to before.

The Gothic architecture seemed almost tall and imposing. Glad to be away from Priere, Konoka kept her eyes to the upper walls and ceiling, simply hoping that whatever managed to stop the demon nun would come down to this wing and remind her she could be with friends again.

Friends?

The young overlord sighed. Walking along the tall, tall shelves of the library reminded her of her days in the Library Exploration Club. Though she wasn't as much of a fanatical member as Nodoka and Yue were, Konoka loved those days, and even remembered the time she helped Negi and Asuna find a supposed legendary book in its archives.

Something flickered in her mind. Something about this place made her recall... madness. Instead of the usual vague memories of pain, here she felt something akin to a horrible lust for destruction, or lashing out against a world out to kill her.

She was so distracted by her memories, she almost failed to notice the black cat slink by.

Keyword being almost, because she was more than happy to find the very familiar cat and plastered it with an affectionate hug. "Oh, how cute~!" She purred happily. "Who knew cats could be so wonderful? I think I'll name you... Anise! That's a wonderful name, don't you think so?"

The cat was horribly annoyed by this statement and changed back into a humanoid demon-girl. "Excuse you?" Anise wasn't strong enough to pull herself out of Konoka's grasp, so she resorted to something else. "Since when did you become CAPTAIN FRIGGIN' OBVIOUS?"

For some reason, yelling in her face didn't disturb Konoka at all. Rather she burst into a fit of giggles. Anise could only blink; her new master was an odd one. Maybe not as endearing as Laharl but just as interesting, if not more so. In any case, Konoka smiled again. "Since it was funny, that's when~" She chirped.

"Well," Anise dropped back to her sugary sweet voice. "Maybe you make funnier jokes next time."

"Boo," Konoka pouted, wondering how Anise was much scarier with her stinging sarcasm than she was with either her overly pleasant or angry emotions.

There was a disheartening quiet though, when Konoka felt the presence of something—a dark but fierce countenance, like one felt when facing a warrior demon. Indeed, as Konoka felt footsteps coming, clamoring as if the footsteps of a feral beast.

No small wonder when she turned around and found herself face to face to a giant wolf-like lion, and on top of it, a huge, lanky crow demon in shiny armor.

There was a moment of silence as Konoka and the wolf stared mutely at each other.

The wolf broke the silence with a literal "ROOOOARRRRR!" and attempted to eat Konoka's face.

"Aiyahhh!" The overlord turned tail and fled, the vicious beast and the crow demon riding atop of it in hot pursuit.

Anise, unfortunately caught up in the middle of it, had no choice but to flee alongside Konoka. "WHOSE BRIGHT IDEA WAS IT TO ADD RANDOM BOSS ENCOUNTERS DOWN HERE?" She screamed, trying to run as fast as possible. Eventually she got the bright idea to switch back into cat mode and took a sharp right somewhere else.

Konoka, however, still had to avoid CRAZY WILD crow demon with wolf-lion mount, with the latter still literally saying things like "ROOOOARRR!" and "GAAAAOOO-de aru! GAOOOOOOO-de aru!" for no discernible reason other than adding horribly irritating random Japanese. However, the threat only became serious when the crow unsheathed a bright, flaming sword. Its orange hue flickered even in the pale décor of the library.

Just her luck that Konoka found herself cornered. The beast slowed down as well, pacing towards Konoka, eyes locked on her. The crow drew its blade and the beast reared back like a horse. A moment later, the crow's sword and the beast slammed down, strong enough to crash the ground.

There was no overlord paste on its sword—Konoka had disappeared to the sky already.

That darn cat reappeared, quickly shifting back to Anise's familiar form. "Hehe, are you ready?" She waved her staff, flickering magic wafting off of it, before huge thunderbolts crashed down onto the crow demon. As both crow and mount shook from the electric pain, Anise called out, "Can't hold out forever, you know!"

"I know!" And that was Konoka, returning to the forefront in flight. She twirled around and let her prehensile tail smash into the crow, causing both it and its mount to stagger backwards. Encouraged, Konoka swept again with the tail.

This time the crow demon guarded with the flaming sword. Konoka was forced to retreat, lest she burn her own tail. The demon swept forward with its own strike, snarling all the way. Konoka scrambled backwards to avoid the sword, but now this gave the demon a chance to press its own attacks. It kept slicing forward with the flaming sword, trying to reduce Konoka to flambé, and her tail wasn't giving her enough room to counter effectively.

Suddenly, Konoka saw one swing stopped short—Anise was back, blocking the blow with her axe. "Geez—!" Anise strained. Though competent with the axe, Anise wasn't built to press physical blows. As a result, the crow demon was easily forcing her back, the burning sword threatening to crush her.

Konoka only watched for a moment. Seeing Anise nearly fall was stirring something in the back of her mind, and she wasn't liking it. She steeled herself before sweeping forward, snatching Anise from the demon's attack and whisking her off to relative safety.

The mage demon blinked, regarding Konoka's rescue with confusion. The overlord's response to the unasked question? "A good overlord looks after her vassals, right?"

Anise really couldn't fault her for that.

The crow demon hadn't given up though. It was still in hot pursuit, waving its sword as its mount continued to shout roars instead of actually roaring. Konoka could actually make out a guttural "You will not escape!" coming from the demon itself, though something about the voice seemed just a bit off...

Konoka and Anise flew until they arrived in what looked like an abandoned courtroom. The insistently white paint job had covered up the walls, but some of the chairs were broken, as if smashed apart by force.

It seemed vaguely familiar to Konoka, and at the moment, she didn't know why.

Noticing the stamping noise getting louder, Anise grit her teeth. "Geh, it's back!"

The crow demon was already there by now, screeching its rage at the two of them. Konoka answered with her tail...

...firing a beam of light right at its chest.

The demon and the mount both made an "EEP!" as the light threatened to rend them apart, but the crow leapt into the air, narrowly evading light-induced death. The mount just ducked on all fours and covered its eyes in fear, the beam singeing its fur just a bit.

The crow sailed down, trying to plunge its sword into Konoka.

That wasn't happening. Firstly, Konoka flipped backwards out of harm's way, revealing a rune. Anise, who was powering said rune, simply sneered evilly as the crow demon lined up with it. A vaguely purple beam of energy smashed into the creature, knocking it away. It crashed unceremoniously into the ground, just as dark mist began to evaporate from it.

Both Anise and Konoka knew it was far from dead, though. The mage was drawing energy to summon a spell that would finish it off, but Konoka held up a hand. Anise stopped, a questioning look on her face. The overlord nodded, and then walked over to the fallen demon. The wolf-lion mount made no move on Konoka but kept a fierce face.

"Excuse me, Random Boss-han?" Konoka ventured. "Why are you trying to kill me?"

"..." The crow demon rose, but by that time, the mist had stopped, and Konoka was no longer looking at a crow, but rather a raven-haired woman. While Konoka had a suspicion that her attacker was female, for the first time she noticed that armor had a rather feminine shape to it. But then said demon faced her. "I'm holding you accountable, overlord."

Something about that woman also seemed faintly familiar. Her facial features seemed to trigger something within her mind—the figure in her past, face shadowed out by her own mind, who moved from shadowy protector to dear friend. But was she...?

"Accountable?" Konoka blinked. "For what?"

"For the deaths of one thousand demons, including sixty-three out of seventy-two members of Ars Goetia," she stated.

Anise blinked in surprise. "Whoa... maybe she's more hardcore than I thought..."

Konoka, however, didn't like that. "B-but...!" More flickering memories. These of that same figure, her face becoming just a bit clearer, as she protected her from attack, and even shared a pactio with her. "Ahh..." She wasn't liking this. She knew this shaded face was her most important person in her heart... so why was she only now returning to her memories?

"You should recall... what happened in this very room three years ago," this demon woman pressed.

Konoka... didn't want to. Not if it was what she thought it'd be. But her mind forced her to remember pieces of it now. She could recall hurting all over, feeling more afraid... more angry than ever. All these shadows—were they demons? Coming at her. There were twirling burst of light, rending these shadows in twos and threes. Why was she here? Why did she hurt so much?

Still in the painful memory, only one thing stood out to her—a body lying somewhere in the center of it all. It looked like... no, she had to make sure. She ambled towards it, apprehension growing, and she leaned down to look.

It  _was_  the girl who protected her. And to boot, her face was no longer

shadowed. She remembered that face with perfect clarity now.

"So it seems you remember..." Apparently, the crow demon saw the recognition cross her face, as Konoka returned to the real world.

"No way..." Konoka staggered back, clutching her head as if it would burst at any moment. She knew now! She knew the person who was in her memories the most, and why her mind was subconsciously avoiding it! But it couldn't have been, right? "...it can't be!"

"Why did I... kill Secchan?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what now? We're moving into to main conflict of Konoka's mind, and as well introducing Gehenna's special Dark Assembly. 63 original members of Ars Goetia got wiped out three years ago, which nine are still around? And does that mean AG has 63 new members? Is our F.O.E demon one of them? UNTIL NEXT TIME.
> 
> Laharl: "EXCUSE ME? I HAVEN'T SHOWN UP FOR THREE CHAPTERS NOW!"
> 
> Be patient.


	7. Chapter 6: Ars Goetia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ars Goetia appears.

"Why... did I kill Secchan?" That dread question hung into the air, with Konoka clutching her head, tears threatening to flow from her face. "Why... would I  _ever_  kill Secchan...?!"

"Wait... what?" Apparently the crow demon wasn't expecting this. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I think you triggered something else, Master Andras," The wolf-lion spoke, apparently in a highly dignified voice.

"I did?" The demoness known as Andras blinked. Then, as if realizing something, she smacked herself. "Dammit... again?"

Konoka, however, was too busy crumbling from her revelation. "Why did I...?" She sniffled. "Secchan... all those demons... am I...?"

"H-hey!" Andras suddenly felt very awkward. This wasn't how things were supposed to go! Why was this person so delirious about one person? What about her fellow senators?

"I didn't want this..." She murmured, voice cursed with sadness. "I don't want this... why am I living without her, why am I responsible for it?" Her head hurt now. Setsuna... her protector, her guardian, her best friend, maybe even more than that... gone by  _her own hands_. It was awful, all that blood on her hands, and at this rate she might start spilling _more_... No. It had to stop, this madness had to stop right now. It was going to end right here.

She slowly brought her hands up to her own neck, enclosing them, and letting her power slowly seep through.

Despite her scatterbrained nature, Andras saw what was going on easily. Clenching her teeth, she then shouted, "I didn't give you permission to kill yourself!" Snarling, she readied her sword. "If you wanted to die for your sins, then let me kill you!"

"She's killing herself?!" Came the surprised voice of Anise.

Andras swept her shining sword, the blade alight with flames, to sever Konoka's head from her shoulders. However, at just the last moment, Konoka flipped away, landing on a still intact chair. "Wha..." Andra began.

"Leave me alone..." Konoka's voice came out as whine. "...get away! I'm a monster..." She withdrew into herself, not wanting to deal with a world without Setsuna. "How could I have done such a thing... how could I face Negi-kun, Asuna, my daddy...?" And suddenly the judge room felt a lot bigger and colder, and that urge to just curl up and die without unwanted help would not go away. Neither would the sudden hand at her shoulder.

Wait, sudden hand at her shoulder?

Konoka shrieked and smashed a tail down where she felt her surprise company, only to be met with mocking, yet mirthful laughter. "Who knew our newest overlord was so skittish?" The voice said. "The last one was such a stiff." Opposite of Konoka stood a young-looking woman, nearly consumed in black. Her eyes, her loose dress, her hair—all of it pitch black. Perhaps what was more was her impish smile, and the way that, if one were to study her closely, how her shape and movement resembled a graceful spider. "Hehehe, it's too bad you were thinking about leaving us, I wanted to get to know you~"

"Eh...?" Konoka blinked slowly, still distraught. "Why would you want to know a monster?"

"Excuse you?!" Anise shouted from her vantage point. " _Why are you stupid_?! A body count like that would make you a hero among demons!"

Konoka just withdrew again, Anise's words just making her hate herself even more.

"If she wanted to be a hero among demons, she would have killed the  _right_  demons," Andras hissed. And Konoka quietly agreed, especially since Setsuna although only being a halfling, was amongst them. "Our number was certainly not amongst them. We were the only beings keeping him in check..."

"You're late to the party as always, Andras," Yui chided. "With the way things were, we were simply blessed Zegnant liked to share~. This new overlord probably isn't any different in the sanity department." Yui regarded the confused and frightened Konoka. "From one delightful mass murderer to another. Quaint, isn't it? Don't you think so, dear King?"

"King...?" Konoka blinked, withdrawing from her personal hell just a bit. "Gehenna has... a king?"

"...t might as well be." The voice seemed to fade in, as if there were several voices flowing into one. Konoka found herself staring blankly as a swirl of sand formed in front of her, and there stood a monster in a cloak, the black obscuring most of his body. The only thing visible outside the cloak were white, almost decaying claws and a snout much like a dragon's. Hollow red eyes swept the overlord and her fearful face. "So this is our... newest Overlord..."

"The King of Dust?" Andras blinked, obviously recognizing the figure. "The  _undead dragon lord_  King of Dust?"

Indeed, despite her cowering, Konoka saw that he was in fact, the King of Dust. His title also read "King of Dust", as did the license plate on his non-existent car.

The monster swirled to her, eyebrow raised. "Always hasty and  _scatterbrained_ , aren't we, Andras?" He looked between the crow demon and the former human. "Already trying to kill the overlord? Shouldn't you at least plan something beyond that?"

"We needed to?" Andras blinked.

"See, this is why people doubt your intelligence."

As Andras sputtered some incoherent retort, Konoka shrank back again. Who were these people, and why were they harassing her? She wanted nothing more than to find Setsuna again, to be with her, to protect her again, but now she had to deal with the fact that Setsuna was dead—by her own hands no less. She may have been denying her death the whole time she had been a demon so far. And now she was amongst those who survived her supposed murder spree. Why Setsuna wasn't among them... "Why don't I...?" Her hands were circling back to her neck again.

Anise, a bit terror-struck from the entry of the King, began to sputter something when she saw Konoka go at herself again. "Hey hey—!"

"Of course... why don't you?" But alas, the undead ruler swirled over to Konoka, nearly obscuring her vision with his black cloak. "Why don't you leave this mortal coil? Don't let silly idiots like Andras have all the glory." She stared up at him eyes wide, as he continued, something resembling a sneer crossing his face. "And just think of it this way... that 'Secchan' you mentioned... you could be with her together, forever, in  _eternal bliss_..." He wasn't quite sure if it would work, but it was worth a shot—he could see the overlord's nature, and if she actually died, well... easier for him to take over!

It was a whisper of lies... something Konoka would know in any other situation, yet in her distraught state, she could not tell the difference. She redoubled her efforts, but it appeared that brute force alone wouldn't work. Still, only she could end this horror now...

That changed, however, when a voice called out.

"Ex _cuse you_?!" She heard a gunshot of sorts, and the King flinched as something crashed into the back of his head. Snarling, he whirled back to the source, black smoke hissing from his mouth to see Lunzard Torque standing there, long, gun-like apparatus aimed at him. "I figured you surviving  _morons_  from Ars Goetia would show up at some point. And already I see you're up to your usual tricks."

"Well if it isn't the  _proxy_ ," The King of Dust hissed. "You haven't changed a bit."

"Always fun, isn't he?" Yui giggled. "You at least have to give him credit for changing his mind, though."

"I had enough of you idiots!" Lunzard bellowed. "Always being obstructive, being active  _precisely_  when it's the least convenient and having those... perversions! The overlord brat over there should have wiped out  _all_  of you while she had the chance!"

"Awww, that's not a nice thing to say!" Yui pouted. "Everyone knows that an Overlord without a Dark Assembly is a trouble magnet. Look no further than the nameless man you called your brother."

"I had  _nothing_  to do with him," Lunzard's voice was dark, his normal bubbling rage becoming a disquiet murmur.

"Really now," Yui's face was painted with a wide grin. "I remember a certain Lunzard Torque that had us, Ars Goetia, push for more iron and metal ore funding."

"If there was no Ars Goetia, I wouldn't have to go through you damned clowns for every little thing! Even Tyrant Overlord Baal left here after seeing how stupid this was!"

"You're still a fool if you believe that," Yui was somehow emboldened, despite Lunzard's endless fury.

"Why you...!"

Konoka couldn't take it anymore. She was tired of all the arguing, the hate, the politics she didn't care about. Secchan was dead, and the only way to amend her sins now was to join her. But why couldn't she do it? Her body was such a traitor, that no matter what she did to herself, it resisted her efforts... no matter how much she hated herself,  _she could not die_.

So when she cranked up her power to deal with it, it was like a pipe burst, holy power seeping out like a horrifying leak. And it was getting worse.

The King of Dust and Lunzard noticed immediately, the former sweeping backwards and the latter taking subconscious steps back. "Geh,  _now_  you've gone and done it! She'll be uncontrollable at this rate!"

It was now that Satsuki finally appeared. For the most part, the ordinary cook couldn't make heads or tails of the situation before her, there was Lunzard stomping about like a lunatic as usual, Anise, and several threatening new guests. That all flew out her mental window once she saw Konoka. She saw the girl in what looked like pain and suffering, despite that huge power that surrounded her. "Konoe-san!" She cried out, not even really thinking about said aura and rushing in...

...only to encounter how dangerous that power was point blank. She hissed in despair and drew back, but still wanting to help  _somehow_. "Konoe-san...  _stop_!"

"That is some frightening power," The King of Dust muttered. "Perhaps... I'll end this before it gets any further..." And with that he drew out a terrible claw, and began to chant. " _Sia arcaniss nific wer ifni di lowan, vur coi taric wux persvek, drekikir ihk vi veditoa erlelee..._ " A massive tornado of sand swirled in the air, drawing close enough to entomb the queen. Nevermind the fact that Satsuki was close enough that she was also being entombed—but the King of Dust neither noticed nor cared. He thickened the tornado and had it contract to squeeze the life out of that girl, extraneous side characters be damned.

"And that... should solve it." King of Dust muttered.

* * *

That solved nothing for Satsuki—she was stuck between death by sand and death by being purified with holy lightbeams of righteous anger and despair. "Konoe-san..." Satsuki murmured, not sure what to make of the madness she found herself sandwiched in. "What are you doing?" Satsuki's words didn't quite reach her yet. Konoka was still trying to bring an end to herself. Satsuki tried to reach her again, but the light still burned. She still only hissed back before trying to shout again. "You'll die at this rate! Don't you want to see the others? What about Sakurazaki?!"

That stirred a reaction. Konoka stopped trying to choke herself, but the power continued. "...Secchan is dead." Was her listless answer. "It's all my fault. I..."

"Konoe-san," Satsuki murmured with eyes wide, now seeing the source of her sorrow and madness. But still, there was the issue of the wave of sand that was going to kill them both if she didn't do something. "Please, let me...!" The sand was nicking away at her now, and before long she actually began to feel something painful. Figuring the searing light was a better way to go, she pushed forward, bracing herself.

Seeing what she was doing (and not seeing the sand whirlwind), Konoka actually shivered. "S-stay away... I'm a monster..."

Take a guess to see if Satsuki cared. "Konoe-san! You think I care? You think she would have cared, even if it was your fault?" Had she had a moment to reflect on that situation, Satsuki would have felt it was the first time in ages that she felt such strong emotion. "You have to stop!"

Yes, it was those words that finally reached Konoka. She froze her retreat, gazing at Satsuki in wonder—but only when the cook screamed out in the holy pain that finally caught up to her did she finally move. Without thinking, Konoka blurted out "Sacchan!" and tried to draw her powers back, launching into an immediate protective hug.

She was still glowing threateningly, a beacon of dangerous light—but it was no longer a threat to Satsuki. Hugging her tightly, Konoka murmured quiet apologies to the weakened cook in her grasp. "Please don't die. I've already got enough death on my hands... I'm so sorry..."

"I'm okay," Satsuki answered. "But you might want to do something about that," And she pointed to the sand tomb enclosing them both, close enough to them now that it would rend them to pieces in a few seconds if not dealt with.

She grit her teeth. She didn't care about herself right now, but damned if Satsuki was going to die because of something she did. That threatening light she bore began to gather into her right hand, only stopping when Konoka slammed the ground, forcing out light in a wide circle that spread, crashing into the tomb and blowing it away. It also blew away several other things, including a bit of the floor, anyone else who wasn't smart enough to guard, and the ceiling too.

In fact, her chaotic power actually forced the King of Dust to sweep a cloaked arm forward, forming a sandy barrier to avoid the beams of light that would have rendered him kibbles and bits. Much to his annoyance, he found his same barrier protected Lunzard and Yui as well. Still, for his sand tomb to fail and to also require a barrier. "...nothing short of impressive. To be capable of this much power. Even if I can't harvest your soul, studying you would be fascinating enough..."

Konoka, still cradling Satsuki, simply glowered at the king.

"You must be some kind of  _idiot_  to think dying was some kind of good idea," Lunzard challenged, shooting glares at the King of Dust and Andras, the latter who lay crashed against a wall. "Your power is insane enough, we don't need to add your mental issues to it!"

"Mental issues?" King of Dust raised an eyebrow.

Even Satsuki had to stare at that. Konoka shivered a bit, remembering back to the first day she and Lunzard met, and how she considered ending his life for punishing a prinny.

"That's right. She needs to overcome that tendency before she even thinks about—graack!" And suddenly there was a prinny on his face, butt stomping his head. "Ow, ow, ow! Cut it out!"

Said prinny landed after Lunzard failed to connect with a swat. "I'm not interested in complaints about 'mental issues' coming from the likes of  _you_." The penguin landed, regarding everyone with an even stare. "Is this really how Ars Goetia works?"

Despite her sadness, Konoka was wondering how a prinny was brave enough to face down several powerful demons—but then she took a look at him. He was slightly taller than the average prinny, with squinted instead of googly eyes, and an actual patch of gray hair tied in a samurai-esque ponytail. She regarded him with curiosity, and the penguin stared back quite fiercely. "Still, I expect better from you, dood. You're our new overlord, after all."

Konoka wasn't even sure how to react to this. After her mind scrambled a bit, she tried, "...who are you?"

There was a surprisingly good-natured chuckle from the prinny. "My name's not really important, but you can call me Prinny K! I'll lend a hand—or flipper—if these other buffoons won't!"

The King of Dust sure recognized that prinny, and he was less than amused. "You're late," he hissed, the tiniest of black vapors leaving his mouth. "It wasn't enough for you to have gained such powers in such a short time, now you're being belligerent."

"Better than being incompetent, dood," He coolly shot back, shrugging.

"...point taken." He shot a glance at Andras, who was recovering from being smashed into the wall.

"Though I wonder why the boys are up in arms about your so-called mental state, I have to hand it to you... you certainly know how to treat a woman." Yui had been strangely quiet up until now, watching the overlord and the girl in her arms. When Konoka and Satsuki gave her confused looks, she laughed. "Put it this way: despite our natures, we're suckers for romance. Most of us, anyway." There was a wayward look at the King of Dust, who blithely ignored it. The two Mahora girls only blinked for a moment before launching into a string of heated denials in perfect unison. Yui laughed harder in response.

"We're Ars Goetia." The spider woman swept a bow as the other three present members walked by her side. "We are Gehenna's Dark Assembly. Depending on how good you are at bribing us, we're at your service."

Konoka put Satsuki down and returned their gazes evenly, showing no outward signs of being intimidated.

Satsuki took the time to ask something. "...what's a Dark Assembly?"

Lunzard snarled to the back. "A huddling mass of demon granfalloon, bearing nothing but wish-granting politics to those who want to get things done."

The King of Dust swept a baleful glare in Lunzard's direction. "I resent the granfalloon remark. I am above these pitiful mortals." He turned back to Konoka. "In any case, we grant you a number of things by vote, but in turn you'll have to help us if you want anything in your favor. As a start, if you want to... make up for your 'sins', as it were, you should start building our numbers back up. Preferably with less idiots," He shot even more looks at his fellow crew members.

"Sins..." Konoka was quiet again, and Satsuki looked on in concern. Memories of that dark day were still a bit hard to deal with.

"Understand this, Overlord!" Andras shouted, boldly pointing a finger in her direction. "If you want my respect after all that you did, you better impress me. I've grown tired of this injustice that sits in Gehenna!" She shot a glare at Lunzard, though it had considerable less fire after a moment. She turned away. "We can have a session tomorrow. We'll discuss further then," And she sheathed her sword, and walked away, her wolf-like mount following her.

The other three stared for just a bit before turning away, though each had some parting words for Konoka. "Do be a dear and come tomorrow, I always want new playmates." And Yui laughed, throwing a web and swinging away in her best Spider Man impression.

"I await what you can do," The King of Dust gazed as if he were staring directly into your soul. "Because either way, I will see it. I will see...  _your death_ ," And he swirled into a tornado of sand, and disappeared.

Last but not least, Prinny K stared at her for a bit, before nodding sagely. "I have faith in you," were his only words before he spun around and fled deeper into the castle.

"Hmph," Lunzard snarled. He turned to Konoka. "Pay them no mind. You need to get back to business—huh?"

The overlord was quiet, her face unreadable. Her wingspan extended outward, taking a hard flap. "I... need to think for a bit." She murmured sadly. A sad face turned to Satsuki, and she murmured, "Please... don't worry about me." And with one powerful flap of her wings, she burst out of the court room and back into the upper echelons of the castle.

Too stunned for words, Satsuki could only stare as Konoka fled the scene. By the time she turned back to Lunzard, he was already stalking off in another direction, and Anise had cleared out earlier. "W-what's going on?" She asked to Lunzard's back. "Why is Konoe-san like that?"

Lunzard halted and turned back. "Three years ago, Gehenna was hell. It appears what happened then is finally catching up to her." And with that, he resumed his exit.

Satsuki was at a loss. What the hell could she do now?

* * *

"What?!" Raspberyl gasped at the news. "Konoka's being charged for a rampage she did here three years ago?!"

Satsuki nodded slowly, remorsefully tapping her finger on the table where she and Beryl sat. They, Flonne, and Beryl's followers Asuka and Kyoko were resting in the kitchen area. Flonne had finally recovered from chasing away Priere, though the demon overlord would likely return to harass them another day. Coming to this news, however, was most dismaying. "That's awful..." Flonne murmured.

"I don't understand the whole story," Satsuki added. "There were a lot of demons that were apparently killed by her hands three years ago, and I get the feeling Sakurazaki-san was one of them."

"But why would they accuse her of such a thing?" Beryl interjected. "There's no way she'd do something like that. From what you've told us and what we've seen, she's too much of a badass to go on a murder spree! ...even if said murder spree was  _supposedly_  justified on all but one person!"

"But... it seems like it's true though," Satsuki countered sadly. "It's not that she did it on purpose, but rather that she lost control of her powers."

"So... it was an accident of some kind?" Flonne asked, blinking.

"If it was an accident, couldn't they have understood that?" Kyoko added.

It was getting even more painful to discuss. "Konoe-san even tried to kill herself for what she did... I managed to stop her, but..." She balled a fist. "I think something's all wrong about all this. Konoe-san's too young and innocent to be caught up in all this—not that I can really speak, but... I need to help Konoe-san, now, more than ever. Yet I see that I lack the power to make a difference."

"Don't say that!" Beryl quickly shot back, slamming a hand on the table and causing the cook to leap back in shock. She looked up, eyes blazing with a determination that would look downright baleful on anyone else. "You  _can_  make a difference! It just takes lots of hard work, determination, and level grinding!"

"What difference does that make?" Satsuki asked, something like desperation starting to flicker in her sad eyes. "If someone stronger shows up, then it's over. Compared to all of you, I'm just a mere human."

"So what? Learn from your defeats!" Beryl kept going strong—apparently the hot-blooded oatmeal she had for breakfast was still strong in her. "Come back, and kick ass! You can help Konoka, I know it!"

"We'll be here to help!" Asuka added, nodding excitedly.

"Don't worry, Ms. Satsuki! We'll back you up with the power of love!" Flonne cheered.

"So how about it?" Beryl asked, toothy grin in Satsuki's direction. "Three cheers to get behind Konoka, whether she likes it or not!" She placed her hand out in front on the table. Her minions immediately followed suit, and Flonne just a moment later—only so she could realize what they were up to.

Satsuki stood there for a moment. Despite all the logical reasons not to, they were willing to step up and help her, a mere human, step alongside her more powerful friends. She could get behind that.

"Okay," She smiled, placing her hand down. "I'm with you. Let's do this."

* * *

"This place brings back memories..." Nagi murmured.

"This place" being an almost black temple, hovering in the sky right near the edge of New Ostia. With windows like an ornate church and halls like a dark palace, it was the perfect locale for a brooding supervillain. Or villain wannabe. With a name like Gravekeeper's Palace, who of the aforementioned types  _wouldn't_  want it? That was Laharl's logic, spotting the distant building not moments after he had defeated—and then recruited—Nagi Springfield. Within hours, Laharl had summoned a Prinny Platoon to spruce the place back up to his liking.

"What kind of memories?" Arika asked, while hearing out a confused prinny and pointing him in the right direction. While she had seen this place before, she hadn't been in it like Nagi had.

Nagi stared back at her. "Reminds me of the days back when things were simple. I could let the smart guys do all the thinking, and all I had to do was save people and beat up the bad guys. Now I'm stuck making sure this planet doesn't fall apart because of all of those goddamn demons showing up, and worse yet, I'm now stuck serving one!" His fist shook with rage, and it was taking all of his power not to do something stupid and blow something up on the spot.

Arika showed slight dismay—their reunion hadn't fully improved Nagi's mood, and apparently demons had become something of a sore spot with him these days. Still, she felt a bit guilty by association, especially considering her current state. "I'm sorry, but..."

"Hey, it's not your fault," While somewhat testy, Nagi was not about to blame Arika for anything.

Emboldened by this, Arika went back to her no-nonsense tone. "Surely there's a better way to vent your grievances without acting like a brat. They'll discover this world's secret soon enough."

"What am I supposed to do, write a letter about it?" He snapped back. "I can already see it now: Dear Demons of the Universe: I hate you. You suck. Signed, Nagi Springfield. P.S: Demons can suck my dick. (P.P.S: Demons also blow)."

To nobody's surprise but Nagi's, there was a slap, and the elder Springfield was nursing a familiar red handprint to his cheek. Some things never change. "W-what was that for?"

Arika huffed in annoyance, flicking her now pointed ears and turned her back. "I know precisely who's not getting any, then."

It took Nagi a moment, but he put two and two together, and realize just how badly Arika just served him. "Wait wait wait, whoa, whoa, Arika! I don't mean you!"

"You'll have to reassess your thoughts on the matter before you start blowing things up," She murmured. "I know demons made me the way I am today, but without it I wouldn't be alive—and furthermore, I'd never see the child I gave birth to—thirteen years ago." She turned around to Nagi, her gaze almost sad. "You know who that is, right?"

Nagi stared, though his gaze softened with hers. He knew exactly who she was talking about.

He went back to his annoyed grimace though. "Still, the number of demons I know of that aren't trying to kill us or people we care about can still be counted on one hand!" He felt his face... damn, still smarting. "...that can be felt on my cheek apparently!"

"Not my fault you don't know anything about power leveling." She was still not being totally honest, but it was an improvement over a moment ago.

Apparently, somebody else had joined their conversation via pointing and laughing at Nagi's misfortune. The couple whirled around to see that Etna had joined them. "Classic slapstick couple arguments. You two are just like those lovebirds from Veldime!"

"Who?" Nagi blinked.

"Lady Etna," Arika greeted.

"So what's this about a 'world secret'? You know how much I love to hear those, right?" The curious Beauty Queen approached the two.

Nagi stepped back on instinct, yet Arika did not. "I apologize, but not having been here for so long has made me nearly forget," She answered. She took a deep breath. The dark politics of this world were some of the best kept secrets of the government and the Enteofushia family line. While Laharl had answered her subtle challenge of this place, even he might not be interested after what she remembered. "This world isn't entirely as it appears. The truth is—"

"We got intruders, dood!" A Prinny shouted, scrambling into the room as fast as his little legs would carry him. "Serious business intruders!"

"Intruders? We got noticed that quickly?" Etna blinked. "Geez, the timing of these people..."

"There's only a few of them, but they're packing serious power, dood!" The prinny elaborated.

"Let's deal with them before Laharl notices," Arika advised.

"Right," Nagi balled his hands into a fist and ran ahead of the other two women. At last... something a bit more constructive to vent his anger on.

It was a bit of a trek into the foyer—or at least considering the urgency of the situation. It took Nagi roughly forty-five seconds to cross the building at top speed and arrive at the front foyer, where he could make out four people entering the foyer. Three of them looked unfamiliar to him—they were mostly young looking girls, perhaps only a few years older than his kid.

The fourth... "Ha, thought I smelled something funny." Nagi crowed, immediately dropping into a fighting stance. Of course, with that kind of escort and appearance, it could only be one person.

The person's eyes widened ever so slightly with recognition, and greeted him with a calm smile. "It seems that legends don't always disappear, even after being defeated. Even I don't know if this marks good or bad fortune for us."

"Long time, no see, Man of a Thousand Spells," said one Fate Averrunicus.

* * *

A quiet reflection was the thing she needed now, preparing for the day ahead where she would meet with Ars Goetia to reflect on official business. Even now, though, the halls were filled with the dark memories of her rampage and despair. But this time, something new blinked out at her—a memory of Setsuna, the girl her mind nearly abandoned.

This time around, she was on the ground, and as Konoka drew near, Setsuna whispered something into her ear. She had no idea exactly what it was, and yet understood the general intent. Both a strange relief and an uncomfortable feeling washed over her now—it wasn't making sense, really.

"Secchan..." Konoka muttered quietly. "Why did you tell me to kill you?"

But she couldn't allow herself to think about that for too long. She had business to attend to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway, this is probably the darkest chapter for some time, and I can finally start getting to the meat of the plot! Wooo! Much thanks to Dark Dragon Dave for letting me use his delightful antagonist King of Dust. As always, check author's notes for more notes on stories and references! Concrit and reviews much appreciated!


	8. Chapter 7: Cosmo Entelecheia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CE returns, three years later.
> 
> Meanwhile, Konoka's on a recruitment drive!

"Long time no see, Man of a Thousand Spells," greeted Fate Averrunicus.

"You don't know when to give up, do you?" Nagi retorted. "I said it to your boss, and I'll say it to you—don't underestimate humanity!"

Fate shrugged. "Underestimating humanity is unfortunately the last thing I want to do. But what can you really do—you're the only 'real' human left in this room." That made Nagi quiet. He quickly noted that one of his cloaked cohorts had disappeared.

Sure didn't work on Etna, though. "Real human?" She raised an eyebrow. "Okay, now things are getting way too juicy here. I think I'm owed an explanation."

"And you'll get one," Nagi growled, dropping into a full-on fighting stance. "Just as soon as I send this guy packing."

"Oh me oh my, I've heard about the recent temper flares of the Springfield family line, but to see it in the flesh..." The white-haired boy commented.

"Shut up!" Nagi bellowed, proving Fate right. He dashed forward, charging up magic in a leaping strike.

"Nagi!" Arika, eyes wide, shouted a warning, but it was too late. She clenched her teeth and shoved her hand upward, and a glowing power swirled from her fingertips and crashed into Nagi, forcing him on a one way ticket to an unceremonious collision with the ground.

The good news? He dodged a gunshot that way.

The bad news? "What the hell was that for?" He didn't see it—that was, until he heard part of the wall explode from the shot that would have blown him to smithereens.

While she could have let the explosion speak for itself, Arika faced Nagi, face etched in a mix of concern, haughtiness, and anger. "You were going to be shot, you idiot."

"What?"

"Interrupting my assessment of strength?!" A female voice, thick with German accent boomed. "You're truly annoying!" The second person following Fate revealed herself—a dark blond with an almost militaristic gaze. She wore a black one piece uniform and matching cap. And judging by the pointed ears, she too was a demon. "But to be quick enough to interrupt me, you too might have interesting strength. Show me!"

Arika hissed, drawing a rapier. "Nagi, step back!"

"Wha...?" Nagi blinked.

The German demon aimed her gun in their direction, firing off a shot. To Nagi's surprise, Arika was more than quick enough to deflect the bullet with her sword. However, the other woman's assault hadn't ended. She stepped forward, firing a few more shots. Arika rushed forward, whirling her blade to keep the shots from grazing, let alone hitting her. She thrust forward, trying to catch the other woman—

Too slow. Arika's award was a boot to the face. Or at least it would have hit her face had she not blocked with her arms at the last moment. Still, the force of the kick was enough to send her skidding backwards, and onto her butt.

"Arika!" Nagi shouted.

"Ngh!" The former Queen of Calamity was hardly down for the count. She hissed and swept her sword forward again, to counter a wicked roundhouse from the woman. The two of them continued to whirl blade and foot in a deadly dance.

While Etna would revel in chaos, her minions were holding their own just fine, and really, what the hell would be the point of wasting effort for sticking up for people? That was what heroes did. And she wasn't one. However, she did grow slightly impatient with the fact that she had no clue about what was going on here.

Having enough of waiting around, Nagi chanted his unlock spell, drawing his power into himself. He launched himself into the air, taking aim and firing a blast of lightning at Fate.

His attack failed—Fate had summoned a wall of stone, taking the majority of the blow. "To be honest, I didn't come to fight you, Thousand Master. However, for old times sake, I wouldn't mind seeing what you have to offer after all these years." He whirled his hand, and a stone formation burst in front of him. Nagi clenched his teeth and leapt backwards while guarding to reduce the impact.

In seconds, Fate was back on him, launching a focused kick to his torso. Nagi, however, hadn't forgotten his own fighting moves and blocked the blow. He countered with an equally quick punch, which Fate barely dodged with a head tilt. Now in close quarters, the two exchanged rapid blows—wasting no movement whatsoever.

Nagi had been pressing his advantage slightly, so he charged a bit of his magic and smashed into Fate with a lightning charged foot. A guard had absorbed the worst of it, but the move still sent Fate flying. Much to Nagi's disappointment though, he landed on his feet.

Arika slid to his side, sword poised. "They're tough, Nagi. Things haven't changed a bit."

"I know, huh? Guess it'll be exciting again, at least." Nagi dropped to a protective fighting stance.

Fate's new cohort landed at his side as well. "So... Man of a Thousand Spells," The construct spoke. "You should note that we have dire times ahead, no longer related to our war in the past."

"Really?" He shot back, a familiar cocky grin on his face. Nagi may have had a temper, but Fate himself wasn't a demon, and he didn't hold grudges against things or people who weren't demons.

"For that, I should introduce you to one of my new partners," He said. "Her name is Salvatore."

"The Magnificent!" The militaristic woman completed. "You've impressed me so far, Man of a Thousand Spells, but I want to see more. I demand you... show me!"

At long last, the stewing Etna had enough. Snarling, she drew out her spear, and threw it like a javelin between the pairs. The explosive blast that resulted when the spear stopped any plan of attack, and even startled Nagi and the cloaked female to the back. "Yeah, I think I had enough of waiting on you to settle your little arguments. Tell me what the hell is going on."

* * *

For the second time, Laharl was freaking bored.

Unlike most of his vassals here with him, the young overlord had taken to exploring the upper parts of his new stronghold alone. It allowed him to do that dreaded thing called thinking a bit more, plus he managed to call first dibs on owning all the cool rooms. But that wasn't solving his current issue with boredom.

"Hmph! I would have thought taking over some badass final villain spot would have been nice, but this is just straight up miserable!" The overlord complained. "I can't believe that scout managed to convince me this was a good idea!" More like you can't believe you fell for the scout's bait, but let's not ruin that.

But that wasn't to be. See, there was a woman walking up the stairs. From his spot, Laharl could only note her wiry frame, and her body wasn't lined up with those offensive things he disliked called boobs. And yet, something felt... off about her. Laharl could faintly note some murmuring about her. Annoyed by this, Laharl shouted at her. "Who the hell invited you up here? Speak up!"

Despondent eyes looked back at him. And for the first time, Laharl saw those swords of hers. She kept murmuring, coming closer. However, the overlord could only make out a few words. "...no worth anymore. Just because I stabbed someone... insignificant."

Laharl blinked, then snarled. A swords user... probably would have been a samurai in his world. And judging by that voice, and the way she moved as she unsheathed her two swords and whirled around in an attempt to slice him...

...she was completely goddamn crazy.

"The hell is with you?!" Laharl bellowed. He pulled out his own blade—if this bitch wants a fight, she'd get one.

"Sempai..." She wailed quietly, forming a competent fighting stance despite her obviously weak mental state. "Why did you have to go before I could defeat you for real? I was so close to tasting you...!"

Laharl rolled his eyes and went on the attack, guarding with his sword and counterattacking with a sharp poke to counter her speed. She was certainly psychotic, but she was also damn good. Her blades flashed, and the overlord felt slashes against his skin. He clenched his teeth, barely able to keep from stumbling back. "Grrr..."

"Everything's insignificant now..." She lunged into a twirling sword attack again, her voice and gaze as listless as ever, even as she gunned for Laharl's innards.

Once again, Laharl found himself pissed. "I'll show you  _insignificant_ ," He snarled, bounding over her attack and waving his hand in the air. Fiery orbs formed in the sky, and the demon pointed towards the mad swordswoman. Overlord's Wrath crashed into her, exploding with furor.

However, the attack missed. She was in the air once more, diving at him. "Zantetsuken." One clean slice tore through the air, and probably would have severed Laharl's torso had the demon not been quick enough to deflect the blow at the last minute.

However, at this point, gone was Laharl's frustration. A worthy opponent had shown herself, and if there was some way to make the woman a little more sane (or at least controllable), he'd have himself another awesome vassal. He decided now was the time to step it up. Fist glowing with the power of fire, he smashed the ground, fire circling him. When she inevitably went to slice his attack down to smithereens, Laharl simply dashed under her and smashed into her gut with a handspring kick.

"Heh," Laharl easily landed on his feet, as the woman crashed.

The lunatic Shinmeiryuu easily rose, but she was no longer listless. The little demon boy was fast handing her ass to her, and now she was intrigued. She hadn't had a fight this good since... "You..." She whirled again, pressing forward to slice Laharl again. "Somehow, I feel alive again..."

Yet once more, Laharl found himself unable to perfectly guard against her attacks—unaware that Shinmeiryuu arts were designed to chop down demons like him. Then again, it wasn't like Laharl would have really cared—her attacks were dangerous, but considering his current state they were a severe annoyance at best. He hissed as yet again sword slashes nicked his sturdy skin with ease, but that wasn't enough to keep him from pressing a sweeping blade to counter her smooth attacks.

"I thought everything would be gone," The woman said, whirling and slicing at Laharl as he scrambled to dodge her faster attacks. "Sempai taken from me, barely surviving the twilight princess, and being stuck on this fake world... Oh wow to see someone like you after all these years..." Laharl made it a point to ignore the woman's orgasmic face as he let Overlord's wrath swirl about him like a floating mine field.

The woman actually had some difficulty with this, thanks to his combination making it difficult for her to get an edge in. She actually strained to keep her attacks up, but by now, Laharl was in a groove. The diminutive overlord suddenly dropped the circling wrath, letting it explode at their feet. When the woman jumped up to counter Laharl, the overlord was already in the sky to meet her. He grabbed her head and slammed it into the ground with enough force that the floor around it left a noticeable cracked crater.

"Ha! You're one thousand years too early to best me!" Laharl crowed, folding his arms. "Haaaaahahahahahaha!"

The woman stared as she rose again. Alas, she wasn't at optimal form. The demon boy had just bested her in battle. Shamed and defeated, she contemplated suicide, or asking the boy to finish her off. "Dammit... without sempai..."

"Who the hell are you talking about?" Laharl demanded.

"Setsuna-sempai," she moaned. "She was the only person who could match me so well. And were having such an exciting battle—and then she went off to go rescue the person who interfered with me... and she died instead. Without her, I'm empty. With nothing but dolls around here, there's nobody interesting to chop up. And my skill has weakened for me to fall to you so easily..." She huffed again and sighed sadly. "Ugh, everything is worthless..."

Laharl walked up to her. Sure, she was a freaking psycho, and likely whoever this Setsuna was probably lucked out. Still, she was a predictable psycho. Laharl could probably use one, especially noting how this world was. "Really? Then tell me why you haven't left yet." He sneered.

She gazed evenly at him. "How can I chop up interesting people when I'm stuck as a spirit in the Netherworld?"

"Who said you had to be a spirit to be in the Netherworld?" Laharl challenged right back.

She blinked. Was this demon boy serious...?

"You're goddamned crazy, but I haven't seen anyone this impressive since Nagi Springfield!" Laharl bellowed. "Since I kicked your ass, you're going to be my vassal, and in turn I'll give you plenty of interesting people to fight. The Netherworld is full of them!" And with that, Laharl laughed again. "Haaaahahahahaha!"

Something stirred in her. Something that was probably gone from her a long time ago... and yet had not totally left. She was surprised that this demon boy could invoke such emotion.

For the first time in ages, the one named Tsukuyomi felt genuine affection. "You're so cuuuute!" And yes, she plastered Laharl in a non-threatening hug. Well, non-threatening to people not named Laharl, anyway.

"T-the hell is this for...?" Laharl complained under her affection.

"Who knew someone like me could be in such a tiny package!"

Laharl flared with rage. "I'm not tiny! And another thing, I'm not like you! For one thing, I'm  _sane_!"

Tsukuyomi giggled. "I always thought sanity was in the eyes of the beholder, so I never cared if people thought I was insane. For all I know, I am."

"Hmph." Laharl calmed down, but he was still on edge. True, he saw vassal potential in Tsukuyomi, but he also knew she was a loose cannon. "So why is this so called world fake? I just got here."

"You mean you don't know?"

Laharl crossed his arms. "Hn. No. Enlighten me." It was more like a command.

* * *

Homura was surprised on how much had changed.

She knew of the war twenty three years ago, and the role both Cosmo Entelecheia and Ala Rubra played in it. She knew that three years ago, that conflict against CE and Ala Rubra's descendants came to a head. A massive screw up on Tsukuyomi's end turned the tides against their plans, and assured that not only would their plans fail, but the noble goal that CE had would continue to be vilified throughout history.

So when Asuna did a horrifying number on Tsukuyomi that dark day, which still amazed her on how she survived that, she expected that the bridges between her group and theirs would be burned for good. Much to her surprise, not only did Asuna use her powers to save everyone after her friends snapped some sense into her, she remained here for a year—and extended an olive branch to the remnants of the group. Being with them for that short time opened up her eyes of the world's plight, and while she still disagreed with how they sought to fix the world, she swore she'd find a more permanent solution.

Until then, the brat of a princess declared her group rivals, not enemies, of CE. It was thanks to that they could have this meeting now, especially after dark news had been revealed to them. She brought up the rear as Fate began talking.

"As you know," began Fate. "This world has been in grave danger for some time. If it isn't from its dying magic, then it's from Netherworld demon invasion. You could say that Cosmo Entelecheia's goal was to circumvent that." Having reached a good enough standstill, the old enemies were no longer fighting each other, thanks to a stark realization and a little effort from Etna.

"But you have demons from that place on your team now," Arika pointed out.

"More like business partners," Salvatore corrected curtly.

"The hell does that mean?" Etna asked, annoyed by the conversation in general.

"Put simply, this magic world is in danger of erosion. The illusory souls and all of their power will vanish, and 67 million humans will be at the mercy of Mars's harsh climate." The powerful construct explained, even producing a small, magical hologram to show his point.

Etna didn't take this very well. "So we're in some sort of magical Matrix ripoff? LAME. Screw this crap, I'm going home!"

"Is that wise, Lady Etna?" Came the voice of Arika. She knew Etna to be slightly finicky, and deep down inside, worried that this place would be left to its own devices again.

"While the Twilit Princess managed an effective stop-gap," Fate continued as if he hadn't been interrupted at all, "it gave rise to another problem—it's now connected to your world, and a certain resident there is prophesied to bring destruction to the human race."

"I revel in destruction, but killing all the humans at once just isn't kosher with me," Salvatore added, adjusting her cap for a bit. She leaned forward conspiratorially. "I've heard rumors."

"What kind of rumors?" Nagi and Etna asked.

"Gehenna's new overlord is said to be continuing the legacy of the previous, Zegnant," Salvatore said. "If you're unfamiliar with that name, you're going to learn just how horrible it is in due time."

"We sent agents down there, to examine the state and see if we need to do something, and how to seal the gap that leads to that world." Fate said.

Annoyed, Etna waved that off. "That overlord the rumors were talking about? I heard she's just some holy wielder. This place is  _beyond_  boring. I'm blowing this popsicle stand."

"Hold that freaking thought, Etna!" A familiar voice bellowed.

"Prince?"

Laharl himself appeared at the stairs, Tsukuyomi by his side. Stepping down the stairs to the main foyer as the rest of them looked on, the small but powerful demon continued, his red scarf billowing down behind him. "Lest we forget, before we ditch this place and go home,  _Flonne is down there_!"

"What?" At first Etna didn't understand his logic, but then something clicked inside her mind. She smirked. "Oh... I see where this is going. You're worried about her, I bet."

"NO, YOU FOOL!" Laharl bellowed, trying to hide that red tinge on his cheeks. Etna rolled her eyes at that usual reaction, but then noted the girl behind him was actually admiring his tantrum. "I have Flonne down there to investigate!"

"Flonne doesn't know how to investigate her way out of a paper bag. She's probably showing off her DVDs to that chick and helping her bake pies."

"And that's why she's perfect!" Laharl countered, much to Etna's surprise. "She's more observant of people when she's not under any pressure! All she really has to do is report her fun times back to me! Soon enough, I'll know how to rule that place!"

"Heh, work that way if you want," Etna said, hiding her mild marvel of Laharl's plan. "But are you sure you can trust that fangirl beside you?"

Laharl took a side glance at Tsukuyomi. He then shot a glance at Etna that said, "Lawl I dunno, but we'll see what happens."

"Not to mention she's a raving lunatic, and the reason why we have this issue in the first place!" Homura hissed, pointing an accusatory finger in her direction.

"You sure you want to keep talking, doll?" Tsukuyomi challenged, drawing one of her swords with an unsettling smile on her face.

"That's unwise," Fate commented on the growing conflict. However, it was Laharl who put an end to it.

"Enough." The overlord bellowed, letting his power radiate. "Go settle your petty character conflicts on your own time. All of you are on  _mine_ , now! And I say we're going to show Gehenna who's boss!" And how else would Laharl end his badass declarations? "Haaaaaaaaaahahahahaha!"

"So begins our uneasy alliance." Fate commented to Nagi.

"'Uneasy' is an understatement. No choice with him around, though." Nagi answered, wondering how Laharl managed to squash 23 years of conflict just because he felt like it—even if it might only be temporary.

* * *

"You're late," was the first thing Konoka heard as she landed back in the library. Her eyes scanned for the source of the voice among the rows of books, but she saw nothing until she found a long table situated nearby one of the tall windows. There, sitting at one of the seats, was Andras.

She was in human form, or as human as she got. She wasn't decked in armor anymore, but rather a silvery kimono with gold lace. However, that flaming sword was still by her side, though the flames had no effect on her or her kimono. Her mount was nearby and out of the way, snoozing peacefully.

"Really?" Konoka asked. Nobody else was there. "We're both early if you ask me."

Andras blinked. "What time is it?"

"Ten Forty Five."

"...and I was wondering why nobody else was here..." She sighed in abject defeat. "A-anyway, you need to pick new members for us. Ars Goetia can't run with just the four of us! ...well it could, but things would be horribly biased in your favor, and I still don't trust you."

Konoka frowned. Still, the heavy weight of blowing up so many people would continue to follow her throughout this world. "I know, but..." Setsuna's death still struck her from the heart.

"This is no time for you to be... weak," That startling echo of voices converging to one point, and the menacing figure of the King of Dust reappeared. The bulbous red glow that would be considered his eyesight followed her. "Unless of course, you want to relinquish rule of Gehenna over to me."

Konoka reeled back in abject horror.

"You? Don't make me laugh." It was that prinny again. Prinny K easily landed between the King and Konoka, sneering at the undead dragon and then turning around to regard Konoka. "You've got a job to do, don't you! So let's get to it!"

"But how am I going to recruit more people for Ars Goetia?" Konoka asked the prinny.

"Easy... go advertise!" Prinny K crowed his answer. "I've got a few interested parties, you simply need to pull in the rest and meet them."

Not having much experience, Konoka found nothing to object to. But there was one thing... "Well, aren't you one head short? Where's..."

"Right here~" taunted a voice, and Konoka felt something attach itself to her back before she was pulled up and spun around. Konoka squealed as she was bound up in silk webbing, and by the time she could see straight again, she was elaborately ensnared in webbing and staring down the last regular member of Ars Goetia. "Noooo!" She wailed. "Let me go!"

"Do bring us some lovely ladies, too!" Yui grinned. "The more wonderful ladies, the less comfortable the few males in a hundred mile radius feel!"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Konoka said, trying to squirm out of the bindings.

"We're much more  _pliable_  to your wishes when things go our way," She answered, leering closely to Konoka, more than what would be comfortable. "You can even take one for the team and let old Kingy learn about your power, if you're feeling bold." Konoka blinked, took a look at the King of Dust, who simply leered back, and shivered again. "I think I'll get to work on finding more members."

"Pick wisely now~" Yui said at last, before the members of Ars Goetia once again left on their own terms, leaving Konoka alone.

At least now, she could easily break free of that obnoxious webbing, hardly noticing her own flush face, due to being lost in thought. She still needed to figure out just how she was going to find more people to come to Ars Goetia.

Somehow, the scent of a freshly baked pie reached her nose. She sniffed idly, enjoying the smell, and the knowledge that Satsuki was behind it. It was then the idea struck.

Like a lightbulb going off, Konoka stood up sharply. "I got it!"

* * *

"A bake sale?" Satsuki blinked, regarding the excited girl before her.

"Not a bake  _sale_ , per se, but a bake hiring kinda thing where I entice people looking for Ars Goetia with pies and other things!" Konoka answered, hopping up and down like a lovestruck fangirl.

Satsuki couldn't help but look amused at the girl before her. She hadn't been close while both were at Mahora, but seeing her now... she couldn't help but wonder if her cheer was infectious. Not 24 hours ago, she was morose over Setsuna's death, and she could tell the news had not left her, and yet... "I see..." She gave a soft smile. "I would love to help."

"A bake sale? So totally badass!" Raspberyl crowed, flying in from out of nowhere. "I want in!"

"So much fun!" Flonne rolled in, also cheery. "So let's do it!"

"All right!" Konoka cheered at the sizeable crowd. And soon enough, it was a slew of cheery girls, preparing to bake and hopefully pull in more demons. It would be awesome!

"...I think we're forgetting something..." Satsuki murmured, but with such good cheer, she didn't want to ruin it.

* * *

The pies were ready.

The advertisements were passed out.

Konoka herself sat at the long table in the castle's Entryway. She, alongside with Flonne, had set up a massive table, waiting for anyone who might step by and be interested in being part of Gehenna's very own Dark Assembly—Ars Goetia.

So why the hell was nobody showing up?

"Gaaahhhh~" Konoka moaned, sinking into the table, bored out of her mind. "Why is nobody showing up?"

"I don't know," Flonne said. "We did put out advertisements today, didn't we? All over the castle!"

"Question: did we put any  _outside_  the castle?" Konoka asked.

Flonne stared. "I thought you were going to do that."

Konoka smacked her head on the table. "I knew I forgot  _something_...!" She let out a heavy sigh. "Where did Satsuki-chan and Raspberyl-han go?"

"Went to do some research on something, they said," Flonne answered, blinking in confusion as she tapped a finger just under her mouth.

Konoka sighed again. "Geeeez..."

There was a bit of mocking laughter as a swirl of sand materialized in front of her, and the King of Dust appeared. "Still a fool, I see." His appearance was frightening to both girls, but Konoka slightly less so. "If you were hoping that a bunch of niceties would lure out a bunch of fickle demons, then you truly are more naïve than I imagined."

Both girls swallowed and stared at the King, causing the sandy undead to look at them in slight marvel. It was Konoka however, who spoke. "Well, it's just going slow, that's all!"

"Yeah!" Flonne shot as well. "We'll get plenty of demons here, just you wait!"

The only response from him was a simple harrumph. He noted some of the pies and, with a swift movement, snapped one up and ate it. Flonne's objection to his action was stopped as Konoka put a hand on her shoulder, and both watched the King intently.

He did swallow the food, albeit with obvious disgust. "Hn, living creatures still need work, but if I still lived, this wouldn't be disgusting at all."

Flonne considered puffing her cheeks in anger, but the frightening undead sent her one look, and she quelled that idea instantly. Konoka gripped her again, but this time she hid a small smile. She could tell roundabout compliments when she saw them.

The King of Dust had disappeared as quickly as he came, and they were alone again.

Konoka sighed, and Flonne let out a breath she had no idea she was holding.

* * *

The cheery overlord of Gehenna continued her bored resting, alongside Flonne. That all changed when Konoka got her first applicant.

The good news was that someone had finally arrived—two people, even! The bad news was that the first person's greeting was a black gloved fist that introduced itself to Konoka's face at about 500 miles an hour. The poor overlord was sent sprawling into a wall, leaving a noticeable crater. Flonne only stared in complete horror at the action, her jaw as wide as a lamprey in a horror painting, before looking at the source of that punch.

"Owww..." Konoka moaned from her custom wall crater. She looked out to see Flonne looking more irritated than frightened.

"I thought better of you, Adell!" The fallen angel admonished to someone. "You shouldn't go beating up overlords just because you're out of work! That's not what heroes of love do!"

"I'm sorry!" Konoka looked further to see a red-haired youth, not much older than herself. Aside from those identifiable black gloves, he is also wearing a white button down shirt with no sleeves, and a red tie. Baggy black pants rounded out his outfit. "I heard Gehenna's Overlord was something of a jerk, so instinct got the better of me and I thought I had to prove myself to him!"

"It's a  _her_ , Adell," Noted the young lady at his side. "Weren't you paying attention? Then again, you  _are_  a battle maniac." She was wearing a seriously elaborate dress—one that made Konoka marvel at its black and crimson-style, like a wedding cake from a succubus. Speaking of which, she had a chest that was as well toned as Konoka's own. Unlike her fight happy counterpart though, she got down to business. "This is where there's recruitment for the Dark Assembly is, correct?"

Konoka recovered fully by now. "Y-yes it is!" She said, smiling brightly. "My local Dark Assembly needs more members before I can have their help. So do you have any experience?"

"I do. I've seen several requests through Dark Assemblies, and sent them to the hospital if they denied me." The woman answered plainly. Konoka blanched at that—the demons around here were so violent! Maybe she shouldn't... But the prim-and-proper demon shot a sideways glance at her partner. "Oh, he's served in one before."

Konoka sighed in relief. Not a total loss.

Adell swooped by. "Oh, and here's my resume!" Sideways look at the woman. "Err,  _our_  resume."

Konoka pulled the folder Adell offered over and opened it to see its contents.

"...why are there a bunch of demons beaten up? I'm not hiring assassins!" Konoka's eyes were wide with horror at the results.

"Well, if a Dark Assembly votes down an overlord's decision, the overlord can override it by fighting them," Flonne explained helpfully. "However, strong assemblies keep the power of an overlord in check. Back at home though, Laharl's gotten strong enough that he steamrollers whenever he wants something, but he doesn't go to them that often to make it up..." She was thinking back on Laharl's recent rage over weapon's prices before they went to Evil Academy.

Konoka then understood something—this whole thing must be why Andras and the King were so eager to have more members. She nodded quietly in understanding, and now felt a little dismayed over the operation. At the same time though, she wanted a balanced assembly who wouldn't be afraid to give her second opinions... good ones, that is. "Ah, I see." She said finally.

Flonne took a look at the two hopefuls. "Ah, that's right! As much as they beat up people, they're really good at heart! They were the main characters of the second game!"

"You forgot about that?" The woman stared at Flonne with incredulity. "I haven't even been introduced properly yet!" She huffed, and before either Flonne or Adell could offer up any apology (not that the latter was thinking of it, no damn way!) she turned to Konoka. "Rozalin. Overlord Incarnate. Well, I'm more of a private citizen now, but I'm most certainly royalty!"

Adell leaned in. "Don't worry about the haughtiness, she's nice when you get to know her."

Konoka had no idea what the hell 'second game' meant, but 'main characters' and 'good hearts' sold her instantly. She gave a respectful bow. "Nice to meet you, Rozalin-han. Well, I'm kinda new at this whole demon thing, but I think you two will make good choices!"

"That's good," Rozalin said. "Now, I'd like six day weekends, extended vacations and a starting salary of one million HL." She made a note to pointedly ignore Adell's "Umm Rozalin, I don't think that's gonna fly."

If she ignored Adell, she couldn't ignore Konoka, who agreed. "Uhh, I don't think benefits work that way."

"Yeah see, I told you," Adell shot back.

"I don't see what you're so upset about," Rozalin countered calmly. "These were perfectly legitimate negotiations and I have reached a mutually beneficial agreement. Why should I give that up, just because you say so?"

"For one thing, it's because those terms are ridiculous. I don't know a place alive that gives six day weekends!" Adell countered. "And secondly, it doesn't look like she agrees." And he pointed to Konoka, still making that blank, confused face.

"You're always insufferable!"

"That's not what you said last time."

"Okay, so you're insufferable most of the time!" Her face is blushing slightly at this point.

And so they continue bickering for a time. Konoka however, noticed the way they bickered, and something in her heart lit up. "Are you... are you two in love?"

That stopped their arguing instantly, and they kinda stuttered over each other's words.

That's why Flonne answered them. "Of course they are! They've been together for a few years!"

"That's amazing!" Konoka cried out in joy.

"No we're not!" Rozalin and Adell complained in perfect unison. But alas, their completely false and not-fooling-anyone declarations were lost on Konoka and Flonne's love freak fangirling. The lovestruck duo happily danced and cheered for their love, much to the chagrin of the two so-called lovebirds.

Adell eventually took a moment to stare. "Huh. Gehenna's overlord is waaaay different than I imagined. It's like Flonne found a twin."

"Hmm, right," Rozalin made a show of sniffing the air disdainfully. "Well, she'll be interesting to watch, at least. There must be a reason why she—and this place—are so swarmed in rumors." Her gaze fell on Adell again, and he stared back. A bit calmer now, and less bothered by the duo fangirling, they joined hands.

Well, Adell and Rozalin may not be bad choices... she'd have to convince Rozalin about her ridiculous benefits, though. Things felt all well and good, but Konoka had a distinct feeling something dark was lurking, and it was looking directly at her and Flonne.

Despite all the people in the room, she felt alone in sensing the dark magic aimed in her general direction. As if she were guided by instinct, she leapt into power, just as, from the corner of her eye, she saw a black arrow streak towards Flonne. Regardless of the safety or sanity of the move, Konoka caught the arrow with her bare hands, hissing as it pierced her skin, but successfully keeping it from piercing Flonne's heart.

Having seen the action, everyone in the room was stunned, but most of all Flonne. A simple "Wha..." was the only thing that left the fallen angel's mouth.

Unfortunately, that arrow was potent—judging by the searing pain Konoka felt on her hands, that arrow was designed to kill  _very powerful creatures_. Luckily, her healing strength more than made up for it, burning against the poison and eventually overpowering it until it left no effect on Konoka's fair skin. She dropped the arrow. And the same instinct that guided her to protect Flonne also spotted her would-be assassin—a perch from a dark corner on the opposite side of the entryway. Anyone staring at Konoka's eyes would note that her stare had gone completely blank, as if possessed. Like a holy bat out of hell, the young demoness gave one mighty flap of her wings and pursued the now panicking and fleeing attacker.

Safe to say, the fail assassin was under the weight of an angry overlord in precisely 6.3734 seconds.

With great fury, Konoka raised her hand to strike. While Flonne had caught up to her, any protests she may have had over Konoka attempting to kill someone were ignored. They were powerless as Konoka slashed the assassin...

...'s clothes away, that is.

Konoka blinked, her normal eyes returning, and found herself staring at... a fallen angel. Well, not quite. Flonne said most fallen angels had bat wings and were fanged. This particular one in her grasp had feathered black wings, matching most of her former clothing, and her raven hair. About the only thing that was perfectly intact were the boots she wore. The creature shamefacedly gazed back at Konoka...

...who chose that point to get hit with realization. "Oh  _crap_ , I overdid it!" She pressed her hands to her face, making her horrified stare all the more exaggerated. "I'm so sorry!" Konoka looked around in a panic, perhaps to find something to help the poor thing get covered up, and saw two members of Ars Goetia show up. This snapped her back into the absurdity of the situation. "...wait, why did you try to kill Flonne?"

"That arrow was not meant for her, but for you," said the assassin. "But I failed, so my journey ends here." She pulled a long black nail from one of her wings, and attempted to push it into her own heart.

"Me...?" Konoka was stunned, unable to register the suicide attempt under her. However, Flonne did, and safe to say that she wasn't going to let that succeed.

"No! Suicide is not the answer!" The true fallen angel cried, letting an arrow fly straight towards the nail and knocked it away. Nevermind the fact the arrow might have killed the person had Flonne not aimed it just right, but it certainly worked! At once, the mysterious fallen-angel-like person began to struggle now, under more of a panic than when Konoka found her.

Flonne looked at Konoka's horrorstruck state. "Konoka...?"

"...why me?" The young overlord asked to herself, voice filled with sadness. "Did I do something wrong?"

"You already have an assassin after you? My, you're quite popular," The King of Dust swirled into view, snapping Konoka out of her sad reverie. "You won't learn anything new from her. Best let her have her wish, and let me choose her soul's fate."

"Just wanting more new souls, Kingy?" Yui was the other member, slyly waltzing up to where the group was. "I've got a better idea. Let me have her, until such a time you feel is right to interrogate her."

Konoka swallowed. It looked like she wasn't going to get by them at all. "Okay, Yui-han. You win. Please take her to... where the interrogation chambers are."

"Tch!" The disappointed King of Dust left in a swirl of sand.

"Yay~" Yui cheered, and in a matter of seconds, she cast a web, jerking the fail assassin from under Konoka and tying her up in it. The mysterious woman tried to get away, but that was useless before the spider woman. "Well, do come see me when you're done recruiting. We'll have lots of fun until then~" And with that, the woman dragged away her quarry into the castle.

Flonne looked after them. "They're... kinda scary, aren't they Konoka?" She turned back to the sunken overlord. "Konoka?"

With those two gone, Konoka smacked her head into a palm. "This is what I hate about administration..."

* * *

Konoka was never one to stay down for long, but even now she felt bogged down by the multitude of thoughts.

"Are you okay?" Flonne asked, her features etched in soft concern and worry.

"I'm fine, really!" Konoka answered with a nervous giggle. "I just have a lot on my mind. An assassination is... a bit heavy for me."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Laharl has had a lot of assassination attempts on him! And he's still popular!" Flonne chirped. "I even tried to kill him once, though it turned out to be a mistake and not what I wanted to do in the first place."

"Actually... that doesn't make me feel better at all," Konoka answered simply, mostly because she knew that her popularity meant new deadly enemies. However, to keep Flonne from getting depressed, she added. "Thanks for trying, though!"

"No problem," Flonne sank into depression, so that failed spectacularly.

Konoka sighed sadly, but the sound of footsteps—and likely their next recruit, perked her up again. "Oh look! The next person came in!"

The person that stepped in was... dressed like a maid. More conservative than the average maid, apparently, judging by the long dress, not quite obscuring her feet, despite the shadows that seemed to dance under her. Her hair was done up in a spiky bun, making her pointy ears stand out a bit more. Her face looked youthful.

Konoka and Flonne stared for a moment, awestruck. "Oh wow," Konoka finally breathed, but then cleared her throat. "Err I mean, hello! Are you here for Ars Goetia?"

"Yes," The woman's voice was soft and yet deep. She curtsied. "My name is Mei. I am the oldest maid in the Netherworld."

"Really..." Flonne breathed. So awestruck by her beauty, it took her a moment to realize what was happening and shook herself from the trance. "...err I mean what made you want this job."

"Administrative tasks are a specialty of mine," Mei said. "As a maid, I can put a few things in perspective better than other demons can."

"Right!" Konoka smiled. This one looked to be a keeper! She then noted a furtive glance over to the pies, long since abandoned. "Please... help yourself!"

"May I?" Mei did indeed help herself to one pie. "It's... delicious. Did you make these?"

"Thank you!" Konoka felt her world getting better by the moment. "I had help, but yes I did!"

"You and whoever helped you have talent," the maid responded. "I do enjoy such things."

"Good! You'll fit right in!" Flonne cheered. "Please report downstairs to the lower library, where you'll get all the paperwork to sign you in!"

"Very well," Mei did one last curtsy, which was met with Konoka and Flonne's own bows, before leaving the entryway to head downstairs.

Flonne rested her head on her hands, a far-off look in her eyes. "I'd never thought I'd say this about another woman, but she's dreamy..."

"I agree," Konoka trailed off, though she didn't quite have the intensity that Flonne did. At the time though, she didn't quite understand why.

* * *

Once again, there was but an eerie silence greeting the heroine, as well as Flonne. That all changed when a black pool of darkness opened up just in front of the table they sat behind. Confused, the duo peered into it, and slowly, a cloaked figure began to rise from its depths.

Already in her greeter mode, Konoka gave a warm smile. "Hi, are you here for—"

" _DYNAMIS_   **ENTRY**!" And that was two demonic feet crashing into Konoka from a flying kick.

It wasn't enough that she had one person punching her and another trying to kill her, now there was a third person who didn't like her enough to smash her face in with a  _dynamic entry_ , of all things. And for the sake of a horrible pun, too! So as Konoka crashed into the wall  _again_  (and Flonne screamed her name in concerned horror  _again_ ), the robed figure swirled his cloak, assuming a fighting stance.

Konoka stumbled out of her second crater, still smarting from the wound, even as she cast a healing spell on herself. "What was that for?" She cried, eyes watery. However, her mind began to churn. The cloaked figure did say "Dynamis Entry" and well he looked familiar... wait a minute. Wasn't that name from...?

"Wow, he seriously did it. I didn't think he would," came a voice, and from the same portal that the summoner demon emerged, a young woman with cat ears appeared. Following her was a young woman with dragon horns, and an especially thick tail. The cat turned to the dragon. "You owe me, Tamaki."

"..." Tamaki stared mutely at Koyomi before pointing at the matter of hand.

"I suggest you appreciate that, cat," The demon known as Dynamis snarled in her direction. "For I will not act so extravagantly unlike myself again. You should not be anywhere in the Netherworld in the first place." He slowly whirled about to face Konoka and Flonne. "To see you again, child, in your position quite stuns me, but my mission is clear."

Konoka pointed, eyes wide. "C-c-c-Cosmo Entelecheia!"

Flonne started in confusion. "Cosmo Enchilada?"

"No, you fool!" Koyomi shouted back, her tail stiffening to show her anger. "Anyway, get lost, our business is with that girl over there!"

Konoka stepped forward, facing down the three members that challenged her, quietly staring them down. "You guys are after us again? Does that mean Negi-kun lost?!"

"Negi-kun?" Flonne tilted her head in confusion.

"We bear no ill-will towards Ala Alba, who defeated us three years ago," Dynamis stated. However, he locked his hands together, and touched his index fingers. Dark power swelled up at his feet, and the familiar runes of summons began to encircle him. Koyomi and Tamaki drew back, but assumed fighting stances. "The sole exception is you, who sits on the throne of Gehenna, and who will bring ruin to the Netherworld and the human world alike." At that moment, a hulking yet skeletal black mass of alien monster emerged behind him. Tentacles waved every which way on its body, and its multiple eyes laid on Konoka.

The creature reared its fist back. "Perish, Konoe child."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple of things:
> 
> 1\. Mega thanks to Dark Dragon Dave and Vehrec for their suggestions and the former's beta-ing. He's also got a pic of Lunzard Torque on his deviantart page! Get to it!
> 
> 2\. Mei is NOT an original character—she's from the Disgaea 3 manga, which is well... somewhere around the internet. Only the first chapter is translated, and I had to take some liberties with her history, but she was so fascinating I couldn't resist putting her in. Get more translations out, and I'll be more accurate with her.


	9. Chapter 8: Crisis Core

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of the recruiting arc. An old foe is on the attack, and a dangerous prophecy is uncovered...

"Perish, Konoe child."

Konoka shrieked as she dodged the fist aiming for her skull. The monster's missed attack crashed into the ground, sending shards of marble floor into the air.

"That's not fair!" Flonne shouted. "I won't let you do as you please!" And with that she aimed her bow and sent a flurry of holy arrows in the monster's direction. It shrieked, but otherwise shrugged off the attack. It snarled, then waved its many arms and tentacles in an effort to blow Flonne away. The attack missed, as the fallen angel quickly beat a hasty retreat.

Konoka, on the other hand, was still reeling from the original accusation, unable to focus on a counter spell or do much other than dodge the punches and wayward limbs coming after her. "Bring ruin...? No way! Why would I...?" She almost failed to notice Koyomi flicker into existence before it was too late. Keyword being almost, as she skidded to a stop and twirled to evade a claw aimed in her direction.

"Going somewhere?" The cat taunted.

"L-leave me alone!" Konoka cried, trying to scramble away.

"What, and let you screw over humanity and Mundus Magicus? I don't think so," Koyomi hissed, drawing her claws. Konoka stumbled backwards as the cat girl slashed at her, desperately trying to evade the girl aiming for her life.

"I don't want to do any such thing!" The young overlord objected, leaping to the side to evade a pounce from the cat.

"By the level of your power, you're going to do it anyway whether you want to or not!" Koyomi retorted. She came to a standstill, bringing out her artifact. With the same fervor, although slightly sympathetic this time, she continued, "...so sit still, and your death will be painless!"

"I don't want to die, either!" Konoka cried desperately.

Koyomi began to draw on her artifact's power. "Time..."

Konoka hadn't fought the girl directly before, but she had seen her powers first hand—okay, maybe not seen them, but knew what they could do, and she wasn't about to see them first hand. Rakan was speedy enough to interrupt them, so Konoka followed suit. She took a swipe with her tail, letting it lash out like a whip.

Koyomi merely sidestepped it. And the spell was still going.

Dreading the consequences, Konoka felt that desperate times called for desperate measures. And while she loathed the idea at that moment, Jack Rakan's earlier tricks on them were the only thing guaranteed to work. "Please forgive me!" Konoka wailed, waving her fingers. With quick moving claws, she flipped Koyomi's skirt. "Rakan Perversion Style... P-panty thief!" And lo and behold, a second later, she was holding Koyomi's panties between her fingers. "Am I supposed to sniff them, too?" The overlord wondered idly as she twirled the offending item on her fingers.

"Whaaaa?!" Koyomi screeched, once again feeling wholly naked despite only one article of clothing disappearing on her.

"Pervert," Tamaki pointed to Konoka drolly.

"W-what are you doing?!" Flonne gasped, as she twirled past a tentacle attempt to strike her down. She took time out of her busy boss fight to fly down to Konoka. "Don't you know that ecchi is bad?"

"I-I'm sorry!" Konoka cried out. "But I didn't have a choice! She can manipulate time with that card, and pervy things are the only way to stop her!" She examined the panties in her hand. "Aren't these a bit lacy for your age? Kinda like Yue-chan..."

"I'm the same age as you!" Koyomi shot back in embarrassed fluster. "...I think!"

"Oh, right."

"Enough shenanigans," Dynamis hissed. "We stop this immediately." The hulking monster he controlled, far more focused this time, aimed a punch at the love freak duo, forcing them to scatter. Koyomi only bowed forward to evade the fist, as if she had seen it coming before the others did. From there, she scrambled around the fist to head off the duo, and get Konoka alone.

Tamaki followed close behind, drawing her card, having it ready.

Koyomi snarled, once again bearing her power. "Time..." She tried to launch that power again, but faster arrows from Flonne interrupted her. "Waah!" She whirled to evade the arrows, forcing her to stop her power. "Dammit..."

"Flonne-han! Get back, these people are dangerous!" Konoka cried, about to take flight and scramble away. Confused by all this, Flonne simply followed, though it wasn't without plenty of "Waah! Mean people!" ranting and complaining. In the meantime, her mind whirled even faster than she ran. Why were they here? No wait, why were they after just  _her_? She was probably the most harmless of Ala Alba, being a demon shouldn't have changed a thing! Right?

Dynamis's hulking creature floated after them, as if it was wading in shallow water. A huge fist reared back and attempted to smash the girls flat. The resulting quake knocked them off their feet and forced them to crash into a nearby wall.

It was then Koyomi and Tamaki struck.

Unveiling her card, the dragon girl began to draw in power. " **Encompandentia**..."

Konoka could feel her eyes shrink and skin pale at those words. She tried to force herself to move, to evade, to do  _something_...

It was a shot of desperation. Flonne, seeing the attack a moment too late, figured worse things would happen to Konoka if she were caught in it. The kindly fallen angel ignored the foe's trap, and used her bow to smash Konoka's side, giving her a glancing blow that knocked her away.

"Flonne?" Konoka couldn't understand what Flonne was doing. Flonne had a lot more to gain by running as opposed to what she just did.

"If you can't fight alone, find friends!" Was the only thing she said, before Tamaki finished her spell, a powerful shout of " **Infinita**!" and her three attackers sealed themselves—and Flonne—away.

Konoka stumbled onto the ground, but desperation allowed her to immediately recover. "Flonne! FLONNE!" But... no answer. She was alone, with her friend sealed in an Infinite Embrace and a party ready to kill her when she returned. Dynamis was every bit as frightening as he had been three years ago, but back then she was providing power to Setsuna to protect them both—now she was alone to face his wrath.

...or not quite alone. Konoka Konoe didn't make friends just because she was a social butterfly. She'd rescue Flonne yet.

* * *

The upper library wasn't as expansive as the one where Ars Goetia liked to congregate. Unlike the taller architecture that made up the lower library, this one was much cozier. The lower library had all sorts of books from all over the Netherworlds, but what brought Satsuki and Raspberyl here instead was the fact that this library stocked more books from the human world.

And with it, books about magic techniques safe for humans.

"You sure this will work?" Satsuki asked the diminutive demon. "I've tried working with magic directly before, but Chao said I don't really have that much capacity. I could learn some basic spells, but using full blown magic power is out of my league."

"Who cares about capacity?" Beryl answered, tossing away one book and scrambling up the shelf to find another one. "It's all about how you use it! We've simply got to find how to incorporate what you're good at into a fighting style! I mean, look at Mr. Champloo! He's an expert cook, and he blended it to make this awesome fighting style!"

"Umm, the Mr. Champloo you talked about is also a demon and has an aura that sets things on fire," Satsuki pointed out. "I'm just... a good cook."

"You are better than a good cook!" Of course, where Beryl went, her followers did. And Asuka, who spoke those lines, strode in with a few books.

"You are an excellent cook!" Kyoko, appearing suddenly as ninjas should, also holding books. "None can cook like you can." She fidgeted a little bit before continuing. "I don't always have the best ideas, but maybe you could try speed cooking for a supportive role? Having food on the go is nice, even on the battlefield."

Satsuki actually stopped and considered the logic, and it wasn't bad in the least. "It's not a bad idea. I'd have to figure out how to cook on the fly, but maybe Lunzard could help with that."

"It's a great idea! Thanks, Kyoko!" Beryl cheered as she rose from her spot.

"You're too kind, Milady," Kyoko rubbed her neck and bowed.

Being short, Raspberyl could actually see the underside of one of the books Kyoko held. Curiosity drawn, she suddenly said, "Hold it, Kyoko. Can you give me that book?"

"Ummm, sure." The ninja forked over the book to her charge, and Raspberyl looked at the sigil on its back. "Yeah... I recognize this sigil. It's the pactio circle!"

Satsuki paused. From what Chao told her while she was at the festival, pactios were serious business in the human world. For a demon to know of them... "You've seen that before?" She asked.

"Of course!" Raspberyl said. "I looked it up in a human book! I tried to convince Mao to do one a long time ago, but..." She fell dismayed. Of course, everyone knew how that turned out, just by her expression. However, she shook off her depression, and was instantly hot-blooded again. "Anyway, a pactio will grant you untold power. And it will help you with Konoka, too!"

Satsuki thought about it, and then smiled. Maybe she'd have a chance after all. "Very well. Who will I make the pactio with?"

"Eh?"

"It takes two people, after all." Satsuki knew that much. She also knew of Negi and his many pactios.

"Oh, right! Make it with Konoka!" Raspberyl explained, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Konoka? I suppose it makes sense..." Satsuki wondered why the idea seemed to prickle her face and make her cheeks red. Last time she checked, she didn't swing that way. Deciding not to stew on such thoughts, she addressed Beryl again. "Think she's still looking for recruits today?"

"I dunno," Beryl shrugged. "Nobody's actually ever had to  _build_  a dark assembly before. That's entirely new territory! Konoka's been an overlord for just a short time and she's already making history!" She immediately went on to gush some more. "She's really something, huh?"

"I guess..." Satsuki didn't know about Netherworld history one way or another, but Konoka was certainly admirable. She guessed that was why the young woman had such an effect on her. But even now, looking at her circumstances, there was something off. Not that she doubted Konoka's power, or her charisma, but there was something up in the way that she had approached certain subjects—namely Setsuna's death, or other things that would certainly derail her cheer. "I worry about the stress that it has on her, though. She's been through so much, and while there are ways for her to shove it aside and deal with it, the way she recovers from them seem... unnatural."

"Huh?" Asuka asked, tilting her head.

"Like what?" Kyoko added. Beryl's attention was on her as well.

"Up until that episode with the ruined courthouse, Konoka had no idea who Setsuna was. And when she finally remembered, it was the most painful thing..." She said. As the others gathered closer, she continued to explain. "And now she's back as if nothing happened. It's like some unnatural force is guiding her."

"Like someone was messing with her mind?" Beryl supplied.

Satsuki paused, but those words seemed appropriate. "...yeah."

Beryl paused in thought. Then she faced Satsuki again. "Do you know if she has a Heart Bank account?"

Satsuki's reaction: completely nonplussed. "A say-what-now?"

"Heart Bank. Notable demons store their hearts and memories there. Especially needed if you have no physical body, or are so powerful you exist as a cosmic horror. Never seen demons like that though," came the explanation. "Only trusted people can get inside, and even then it's layered with security..."

"Demons are weirder than I thought..." Satsuki rubbed her head. "But..."

That trail of thought vanished, however, as a panicked Konoka appeared, out of breath. Telltale signs of battle scarred her kimono, though told them a good reason of her panic. "I-it's awful, they've got Flonne-han!"

"They who?" The others were at immediate attention—Flonne may not have been the most powerful, but she was certainly not someone to be underestimated.

"C-Cosmo Entelecheia! They're trying to kill me and I ran away like a coward because Flonne got sucked into one of their spells, and...!" Konoka tried to shoot off everything about them, but her panic kept her from making too much sense to her peers.

"Slow down, Konoe-san," Satsuki strode forward and gripped Konoka by the shoulders, as if to steady her. "We know it's urgent, but you've got to think straight first. Whoever they are, they likely are counting on you to mess up." Satsuki gazed earnestly into Konoka's eyes—if it's one thing she hadn't lost in the past three years, despite everything, it was her level-headed approach. And right now, Konoka seriously needed it. "We'll get through this together, and get Flonne-san back. Firstly, where did you last see them?"

"Th-th-they used that space spell, so they should still be at the entryway," Konoka, now noticeably calmer, answered her.

"Chances are they're waiting for you," Satsuki figured. She really hadn't seen enough anime or literature or stories like that, but Chao often muttered about 'meta' concepts when the time for her battle with Negi drew closer. And she was no fool, seeing this technique reminded her of what Chao herself had to do for Negi. "You need a battle plan."

"And you're gonna help!" Beryl piped, much to the cook's surprise. She immediately dropped to the floor, glancing at the book in her hands and creating a familiar sigil. "What better to deal with a powerful jerk than with more friends?" Konoka looked confused at this, but Beryl added, "Satsuki's gonna make a pactio with you!"

"Pactio?" She gasped. It was a word she hadn't heard in three years.

"Yes!" Asuka said. "It will be easier for Satsuki to help you!"

Konoka remembered what Flonne said before being sealed away, and she nodded. Not a bad idea after all.

It took her a few more moments, but Beryl finished. She stood up, and flared her power to light up the sigil. "Awright, let's do this then! Do your thing!" She looked eagerly, but they merely stared awkwardly for about the next two minutes. "Well?"

Satsuki swallowed hard. "It's... just a kiss of friendship and partnership, okay?"

Konoka nodded slowly. "Yeah."

She nodded, as if confirming this excuse. "Well then." She leaned forward to meet Konoka, being surprisingly even with her height, and kissed her on the lips.

" **Pactio**!" Beryl shouted, finishing the rites. A flash of light, and lo and behold, a small card fell into Satsuki's hands. A small chant on Konoka's end allowed her a replica. "Whoohoo!" The small demon and her minions cheered. "Satsuki's gonna be stronger with Konoka now!"

Konoka tapped her lips lightly, not sure why that felt nicer than it should. Still, there was the more pressing matter... "Satsuki-chan, we're going to get Flonne-han back. With you guys, I think I can take them down." She clenched her fist.

"Umm right," Satsuki murmured. However, she turned to Konoka, face serious. With all the intensity she could muster, she announced, "I will assist you, help you, and protect you any way I can, even if I am just a cook."

Konoka's cheeks grew three times redder that moment. Those words...  _those words_... "If you don't like me that way, you're not allowed to sound that cool!" She said, sashaying in delight.

"That's right! Those kind of words and attitude together are reserved for knights protecting their ladies!" Kyoko quickly added, getting her friend's agreement.

Satsuki reacted the only way any sane person would—she sank her face into her palm.

* * *

"She was... powerful," Tamaki murmured, shrinking back down to normal and nursing her wounds. "Had Koyomi not managed... her artifact, we would have lost."

"I'm impressed you two are still standing," Dynamis noted, as Koyomi began to slowly heal herself and her partner. Indeed, those two had grown close in the years after the Ala Alba conflict—no doubt it was what led them to victory over Flonne. How they managed to get closer was really none of his business, so he never cared to find out—only their results here mattered. "Unfortunately, that means you're magically exhausted, and that leaves just me to take the girl down—if we even can. You, miss dragon, can manage a few opening attacks at best. Luckily, we have this girl here. We might be able to get her to stand down and die quietly, or at least weaken her enough."

He now held the unconscious fallen angel in his grasp, bound by magical circles, should she wake and try to escape. He didn't even really expect to get this far—right now, he held his only shot at bringing the Konoe girl down before she slowly corrupted the human and demon worlds, better than what he started out with. True, Fate only sent him for reconnaissance, but the situation looked worse than he imagined. To strike now, while the girl was weak and unprepared, would do him and the others best. "The Encompandentia Infinita is just about to end. Be prepared."

They would wait. Surely, the Konoe girl would return or cross paths with them.

* * *

It turned out that the wait didn't need to happen very long. When the spell dissipated, the vile overlord appeared just opposite of them a few minutes later, her arms crossed in grim determination. Konoka glared at Dynamis, daring him to make a move first before she finally spoke. "Give back Flonne-han!"

"Damn right!" Dynamis was surprised to see a short demon walk beside her, imitating her pose. "Holding hostages? Demanding somebody die? That's some of the worst honor student behavior I've ever seen!" And yes, she was actually familiar to him, though how, he could not yet place. He found that even that wasn't the end of Konoe's backup, as a young woman who looked just a tad plump stood on the other side of the harbinger of holy doom. Last but not least, a ninja and a female samurai appeared beside the short demon. "Get lost and maybe we'll show you kindness and love  _without_  shoving it down your throat! Literally!"

"If it weren't for the unerring confirmation that you are the harbinger of sorrow and madness, I'd wonder if you were naught but young delinquents," Dynamis coolly countered. "You are most thoroughly incompetent at being evil, for certain. Maybe in a more idyllic time, you were delinquents. But the Konoe girl must perish, lest she give birth to a horrifying power that will destroy us all."

"Why do you keep saying that?" Konoka challenged. "I have no desire to destroy the world, anywhere in my being!"

Dynamis sighed. Maybe he was going about this the wrong way. If she saw the truth, maybe she'd be more accepting. From his cloak, he drew an old, battered tome, one sealed with a lock. He tossed it towards Konoka, and the confused overlord caught it. "This book was used by many famous seers in both the human world and this one."

Raspberyl, originally confused over the exchange, looked up and saw the book. "No kidding! That book has been  _huge_  among the psychic demons!" There was a moment of silence. "...though I haven't seen anything predicted in that book."

"I like fortune telling!" Konoka suddenly interjected, waving the book. She poked her finger in the keyhole, and noted that it was guarded with a spell. "I've got some power now, so I'll prove just how wrong some silly prophecy about me ruining the world really is!"

That turned out to really be the wrong thing to say.

Konoka really only meant to figure out the spell that would unlock the book. Instead, upon gently poking again, she stabbed the guarded spell just a bit harder than she meant to, and her power overreacted. Light leaked out of her finger like a torrent, shattering the spell guarding the keyhole. From that, she found herself glowing, radiating power like a megawatt light bulb. She began to float, reminiscent of the powerful trance she fell into three years ago to protect Setsuna. Konoka couldn't even begin to understand how her power was flaring up like this—it was slipping out of her control just from trying to read a book!

But that certainly wasn't all. The bright light caused everyone else to recoil, cover their eyes and even throw up some shields in hope of not being overwhelmed by the sheer force of it. Konoka's power was  _fierce enough to shake the whole castle_. It then got even better, as the book flared open.

For the first time, Konoka didn't just feel her powers go out of control, but her own body did as well. A swirl of pages, and Konoka found herself entranced and reading a page from its pages. " **For ye to curse this vessel, descendant of the Fujiwara clan, worshipers of the Sun God Amaterasu, with death and sorrow, all your existences shall come to a painful end. She being the last descendant, she must be protected. These worlds shall mean nothing to her without love, or a heart that is steeped in evil.** "

And as soon as it had begun, it was over. Konoka stopped floating, the world stopped being a bastion of light, and the other pitiful mortals could see again (and if they couldn't, they could always sue). She blinked, unsure what to make of what just happened. "What... but I..."

"What... was that?" Raspberyl gasped, trying to blink her eyes back after all that white fried a bunch of pretty colors onto her retinas. "I haven't seen that much frightening power since Mao..."

"Frightening indeed..." Dynamis said, walking forward. "Even if the words she read to you mean nothing, that awful power certainly should. That is why we should end it now. Peacefully, before it gets worse." He glanced at the unconscious Flonne. "Her life depends on it."

There was a stunned silence, and with it, several crestfallen faces. Konoka, Raspberyl, and the others, were at a loss for words. Even if it was just a prophecy, Konoka's now unstable powers could certainly cause  _something_  bad. Konoka herself, gazing at everyone, even considered giving herself up, so that the power, awful thing she and everyone just felt would not materialize.

Satsuki, however, while quiet like everyone else, had a different opinion. Like it or not, this was not the first time she felt that power. She knew of Konoka's plight, and to see everything like this now, she wasn't about to give up—or let anyone else do so. "Konoe-san's suffered this much..." She began. "To be led astray by a few fools who believe a few scary words wouldn't deter her at all." Satsuki stood straight, face etched in the same determination that Konoka herself had not moments ago. "I have faith in Konoka!"

Dynamis took a wary step back.

"Satsuki-chan..." Konoka breathed.

"How could I have been such a fool?" Beryl proclaimed, shaking herself out of her stupor. "Satsuki's right! I have faith in Konoka too!"

"Me too!" Rang the voices of her minions.

Konoka's incredulous stare fell upon them. "Everyone..." To be truthful, she was happy. She still had support, no matter what. She may be stronger than most people in the room, but she wasn't a warrior—she'd need that support. But speaking of warriors, she turned back to Dynamis. "Well sorry, but I can't die. Too many people want me to live... most of all, Secchan." She crossed her arms, that serious face crossing her features again. "I'm not throwing away my life for your sake!" Anger ghosting her features, just as Kyoko flickered out of sight, she bellowed. "Now give us back Flonne-han!"

"Hmph. I see you still have a death wish," Dynamis muttered. He flexed a finger. "To push us into desperation—you truly are annoying." Darkness swirled all around Flonne, encapsulating her in a pure sphere of blackness. "Understand this. You cannot hope to control that power, girl! You—"

"BASTARD!" Beryl shouted, unintentionally finishing his sentence. She reared her hand back and fired a gout of flame—her Giga Fire—quite literally. The rest of team Konoka dropped into a fighting stance. But alas, one thick, amazingly strong tail whipped its way in front of Dynamis, blocking the flames and stopping them cold. That tail belonged to Tamaki, glaring at the pint-sized demoness as she withdrew it.

"Tamaki...!" Koyomi hissed, weakly drawing into a battle stance.

Nodding, the dragon girl took a deep breath before tossing her borrowed cloak. Now naked, she drew in magical power and as a result, her body began to expand. Her body grew, her skin became scales, her nails became claws, she grew gigantic wings, and her face became reptilian. Now in full dragon form, Tamaki reared back, and let loose a powerful roar.

Konoka shivered, having seen that form just once three years ago, briefly before Haruna challenged her to a fight. Beryl, on the other hand, wasn't intimidated in the least. The girl shifted gears and pointed her finger of rage on Tamaki, launching a "Giga FIRE!" in her direction. Tamaki stumbled back from the huge gout of fire as Beryl and Asuka immediately pounced forward to pursue an attack.

"Tamaki!" Koyomi cried, and she scampered after her friend and her attackers.

Dynamis wasn't just sitting there, however. The shadows at his feet grew into slithering tentacles, arching up, and taking aim at Konoka. Piercing black beams shot towards her. Konoka squeaked and jerked out of harm's way at the last possible moment, evading death (or even stripping) by a hair.

Annoyed by this, Konoka stepped back for a moment before running forward, claws outstretched to greet Dynamis with a wide slash. She swept forward, but her attack didn't connect—a massive sword, wielded by a giant hand, had absorbed the blow. Konoka opted this time to leap over it, attempting to crash down on top of Dynamis instead.

The mage of shadows dodged with a slight leap to the left, swirling his cloak and winding himself slightly, readying a counterattack. Konoka realized just a moment before it was too late, and burst into the air again before the telltale swirling cage of black tendrils could ensnare her in a tomb. Dark Spherical Prison had missed its mark by mere inches—and luck.

The sword wasn't even gone, though. The gargantuan hand wielding it gripped it tightly, before swinging it in an attempt to smash Konoka cold. It made contact, slamming into her body. However, the overlord smoothly rolled with the strike, minimizing damage, even as she crashed into the ground. She scrambled to recover and looked up.

That was when Dynamis began to draw power. Several black orbs swirled into existence in the air. Not wanting to be anywhere near those things, Konoka scrambled back.

But for Satsuki Yotsuba, it was now or never. Drawing up her pactio card, she murmured one word: "Adeat."

The card shined, and from the flash, a giant gold pot slammed in front of her. "Whoa..." She marveled at it, but seeing Dynamis prepare another attack, she quickly examined her pot. Aside from it, there was also a frying pan and a steel spoon. She quickly picked them up. Seeing Konoka about to flee again, she banged them together to catch Konoka's attention. "Over here!" She called out.

In a strange twist of fate, the projectiles Dynamis summoned beat her to the punch. The black orbs crashed into her pot, just as a watery liquid filled it, submerging them and removing the threat they carried. And Konoka did show up—except that she was also drawn to the pot. Konoka squealed, and she narrowly avoided becoming Dark Konoka Soup only because Satsuki stopped banging her pots.

Dynamis blinked. This was by far the strangest ability he had seen in his long lifetime.

"This thing is weeeird," Satsuki breathed, gazing at Konoka. "But it seems it's actually useful for battle."

"I guess that's good," She dropped into a fighting stance. "Keep all of his projectiles off of me!" And she took to the air, extending an arm and pointing a finger in his direction. At once, a thin but powerful beam of light shot towards Dynamis.

The dark summoner mage merely stood still, and her light failed to connect, thanks to an immensely thick barrier. The Mandala Barrier shined brightly, as if notifying Konoka of how laughably useless her attack was. "Hmph. Maybe I don't have to worry as much as I thought."

Konoka frowned at the barrier, but didn't feel like it was a lost cause. She swept forward, letting her wings quiver with light before she let loose with another volley of Judgment. Torrents of light slammed against the barrier, but none were strong enough to break it. The wafting smoke, however, made a nice touch, disguising Konoka's landing. Frustrated, Konoka yearned for a technique that would allow her to breach that thick barrier. It was just then that an odd feeling washed over her, and another presence temporarily encroached her own.

Unimpressed, Dynamis shot forward tendrils of darkness in Konoka's direction, certain that she was still there in front of him—well except she wasn't. Only moments later he realized the overlord was to his left, and she held an entirely different stance.

"Shinmeiryuu ougi..." She contorted her body, holding a sword of light from a feather. "Zantesuken!"And one long slice tears the barrier in half, shattering it. The strange possession on her disappeared, and Konoka no longer felt dazed. "How...?" She shook it off. "No time for complaining!" She aimed her finger, and that was a burst of light smashing into Dynamis's face. The man roared in pain before holding his damaged mask.

"You..." He hissed, and once again, strong tendrils from the ground shot forward. But this time, Konoka was too close for her to react, and at least two smashed her in the stomach.

Satsuki cried out in concern. "K-konoe-san!"

Konoka hissed out in pain, unable to recover fast enough.

"You are not the warrior Springfield was... and you never will be," Dynamis marched closer, eyes gazing at Konoka as if he could peer into her soul.

Ever so nervous, Satsuki's mind conflicted between running away and trying to put a brave front to protect Konoka. She noted her pot was now boiling over, the black liquid bubbling ever so strongly.

Ignoring this spectacle, Dynamis continued his march towards Konoka. "Give yourself up. For the good of these worlds." It turned out, however, that ignoring Satsuki would be his undoing.

Satsuki leapt up in surprise as one blast of energy shot from her pot—the absorbed black orb. The orb erupted strongly enough to blast through the walls. Mind working on overdrive and panic, she pushed her heavy pot away from herself, and towards Dynamis as it continued to fire the 'cooked' orbs.

A surprised Dynamis hastily threw up a barrier, but his own magic slamming against him quickly shattered it. Vulnerable, he had no choice but to physically dodge the last burst. Eyes incredulous, he stared hard at the cook. "What manner of magic do you wield, cook?"

Satsuki answered, body shaking but staring levelly at him. "No magic of my own, just a pactio..."

Drawing himself up, he snarled. "To still defend this overlord when she will be the death of you..." The shadows under his cloak flared to life. "I think I will correct thee of thy folly." And tendrils shot out at Satsuki.

Well, Dynamis would remember well that VERY BAD THINGS happen to people who mess with Konoka's friends.

Like a beam of light, Konoka shot forward, smashing into Dynamis with untold holy fury. Dynamis hissed, trying to shove her off using augmented power. He sunk his claws into her side, enough to draw blood, and tossed her upward, hoping to draw strength and try to finish her off.

She was helpless in the air for only a moment. Konoka twirled and righted herself, wings flapping strongly. Gathering power, she looked down, and her eyes widened.

It was like Dynamis had summoned the abyss itself. His demonic shadow puppets, grotesque as the residents of hell itself, reached out to ensnare her. "We shall go together..." Came the voice of the summoner demon.

Frightened and angry, Konoka flared to life. Glowing with power, holy lightning crackled and struck down all around the two of them, blowing away the hands that tried to reach her. "No..." She quailed. Aiming a finger at the other demon, she cried. " **No, I won't!** "

A jagged burst of holy energy shot down at Dynamis, exploding in a holy crescendo of madness.

Silence came soon after, as Konoka landed with one gentle flap of her wings. Satsuki stared for a moment, taken in by her majesty before she rushed over to her side. "I'm okay!" Konoka said, to which Satsuki let out a breath of relief. Old habits dying hard, Konoka checked Satsuki over for wounds. Both looked expectantly at the crushed Dynamis, the man still twitching from the holy magic that had slammed into him from earlier.

Appearing from the slowly retreating darkness was one last orb. It unraveled, revealing a small flicker in its depths before turning up empty.

Kyoko reappeared, holding a now conscious Flonne, struggling in her magic binds. "Ahh!" She cried out as Kyoko stopped alongside Konoka. A simple "Nin!" and some quick hand movement later, Flonne's bonds were shattered. Now safe, Flonne stepped to the ground. "Thanks! You guys really are heroes!"

"No problem!" Kyoko and Konoka chorused. Satsuki just gave a smile.

A fiery burst down the hall signaled the reappearance of Tamaki, this time thoroughly beaten. The dragon, twitching from burns, slowly sank back down into her naked human form. Koyomi flickered into existence, apparently with the last of her strength, as she collapsed on top of the dragon girl. "T-tamaki!"

Beryl and Asuka came down, tired and with several of their own wounds, but victorious. "Geez, they weren't kidding when they say wounded dragons fight harder!" Beryl proclaimed. While she did look in the time space duo's direction, she made no move towards them, much to Koyomi's relief. However, she turned to see Konoka and the others, and Flonne now safe. "But it looks like we won, right?"

"Yeah..." Konoka said airily, but quickly snapped out of it when she saw that Raspberyl was wounded. Fluttering to her side, the overlord immediately had a finger ready, casting her healing spell over Raspberyl and Asuka. She actually went over and looked at Tamaki's wounds as well, and the only reason she didn't heal them was because she might have still be vulnerable.

Dynamis slowly rose. "So this is it. I am a complete failure," He glared at her through just one eye. "Fine. If you so inclined, end me right now. I'd rather not stay for the day you bring Ragnarok."

"Or Armageddon." Koyomi helpfully supplied.

"Enough of this crap!" Beryl objected, face livid. She whirled on Dynamis. "You jerks, Konoka's not like that, and you know it! Konoka, I say sentence this guy to two million hours of community service!"

"Or donate 6 quarts of blood!" Asuka added.

"He should be forced to raise kittens!" Flonne shrieked in his direction.

"Nothing like charity to make me shiver in my boots," Dynamis muttered drolly. "You really are a pack of delinquents."

Satsuki tilted her head, nonplussed. These people are supposed to be demons?

"But in any case, your victory is hollow," Dynamis stopped their bickering, adding foreboding to his usual heavy voice. "I know now without a doubt, that your power is the one that will end everything. I do however, applaud your valiant efforts otherwise."

The others looked like they were going to object, but Konoka shook her head. "No... I refuse! I'm  _not_  going to end the world!" Her voice carried a hint of desperation.

Dynamis stopped, and paused for a moment. "How can you be so certain, when that half-breed is no longer around to protect you?"

Konoka stiffened at those words. "How do you...?"

"That expression, combined with a technique you used earlier, just told me," Came the answer. As Konoka slowly gripped her own arms, folded and quivering with some unknown emotion, he continued. "While I know nothing of any details, that power the winged girl struck me with three years ago came from  _you_. And after Ala Alba defeated us, motivated by the loss and rage of losing you, we struck a truce with the Imperial Princess instead." Konoka's mind immediately connected Asuna, but she made no visible recognition of it. "We searched, for clues about Mundus Magicus, and your whereabouts, but alas, no connection to this world came until she left. That's when I saw the prophecy. And learned of what you suffered three years ago. No wonder you're still in denial—"

A clawed hand was at his neck. He didn't even flinch, despite the horrified gasps coming from everyone else. A strange, un-Konoka-like voice left the overlord. "What makes you so certain she's gone?" A trouble silence continued for a long moment, with Dynamis and Konoka locking each other in a battle of unearthly stares.

It seemed that Konoka lost though, as her posture weakened and she turned away. "Take them away..." She muttered quietly, not even sure who'd heed the command, and she fled in a flurry of feathers.

An awkward silence ensued, but Satsuki's mind was too busy reeling. What was with Konoka? What really happened to Setsuna three years ago? And she bet that those questions hit the others too, judging by their confused, worried looks. With nothing else that could be done, Beryl and her cronies led the CE remnants away, and Flonne and Satsuki retreated back to their rooms.

* * *

It seemed Konoka's hunt for Ars Goetia members ended for today. Aside from a couple of minor demons, they managed only Rozalin, Adell, and Mei, bringing the count to ten.

"Was there some number we were working towards?" Beryl asked, looking up from something she was writing. The two of them regrouped in Satsuki's kitchen, as the cook was gathering supplies.

"I thought Ars Goetia consisted of seventy-two members at one point," Satsuki answered, somewhat distracted. That was possibly due to her continuing thoughts on what might be going on with the overlord. Maybe Lunzard was right, and she had serious issues to contend with.

"Right! Right..." She finished writing whatever she had down. Beryl folded her note neatly, put it in an envelope, and sealed it. "Anyway, I'm going to drop this off."

"What's it for?" Satsuki asked.

"Just telling Mao how things are going," Beryl said. At the moment, Satsuki couldn't think of any reason to object. They made their way to the front gates of the castle. Considering Gehenna's size and the serious color palette, she hadn't realized she stepped outside until she saw the front gates. "Apparently he gets my stuff fast. The mail's been improving over the last year! Awesome what a few delinquent programs can do!" She spotted the mailbox, and the demon mailman in the distance. "And whoa, there's the mailman right there!"

Indeed he was. While human mailmen dressed in blue, this one was decked in dark gray. The cap shaded much of his face, though both girls could tell his skin was a dark shade of brown. "Hello, ladies. What a fine, evil day we have."

"A little less on the evil please," Satsuki muttered, to which the dark-skinned man laughed.

"I see. This place has a human in its ranks," He said, giving the both of them a toothy grin. "Just between you and me, that's something of an improvement over three years ago."

"Three years ago?" Satsuki began, but being familiar over Konoka's story, she put two and two together. "Ah right, Zegnant."

"I hope that whoever's replaced him is doing all right," The mailman commented idly. "It was said that Zegnant did a number on her before she took him down. I'd lend a helping hand if I could, but I'm busy."

Satsuki pursed her lips. There  _had_  to be a way to lend a helping hand.

"Yeah, can you take this to Mao? It's urgent that he read it." Beryl handed her note over to the man, who happily took it.

"I'll get this to him as quickly as possible," He bowed, and with that, he whirled off, in a flash of darkness. Satsuki wasn't sure, but she briefly saw neon-orange eyes on that person.

"That'll take care of that!" Beryl made a show of dusting off her hands, as the mailman disappeared. "We should get back inside, and find a way to cheer up Konoka!"

This straightforward suggestion cut through Satsuki's initial indecision. While nowhere near Raspberyl's fervor, she mentally kicked herself for not immediately cooking up something good for her. Konoka needed alone time, yes, but as of now, what she really needed was someone to watch her diet! "That's right! All that stress can't be good for her body. I'm cooking her some dinner straight away."

With no hesitation, they set back into the castle.

* * *

As of now, he was still getting used to the resort. Mao wondered how those silly humans could put forth so much training—and he got his answer: the expansive, time-slowing resort. Filled to the brim with environments and amenities that allowed them to train their bodies and magic in reduced time, the resort was their go to for practicing magic out of the watchful eyes of humanity. Ever since Mao and his 'apprentice' Cygnus got involved with Ala Alba, Satomi tagged along on their visits. Feeling responsible for Mao's appearance, Satomi found it best to stick around and find out more as she could.

In the week that passed, what was usually one visit to the resort a day turned into three. Asagi's worries that it would make them age faster were shot down by both Yue and Evangeline, who had since counteracted the additional aging it would bring with a few clever links of charms and magic on the dome. Their magic lessons and training now focused a bit more on variety and strategy. Because a second assessment from Mao and Cygnus on the first day unearthed that Ala Alba certainly wasn't weak—they simply had little to no experience dealing with demons that actually had intelligence AND numbers. Obviously, Wilhelm and Dynamis did not count for numbers.

It was here that Mao learned of Chachamaru.

Since not everyone was present when Mao gave Negi's Team a good thrashing, most accounts of his strength were secondhand. So when Evangeline challenged Mao sometime that week that her number two would be more suited to deal with his drooling nerd self, she had no idea how right she would be... in a completely different direction.

"So you're cowering behind a robot?" Mao sneered at Evangeline, not yet recognizing Chachamaru. "Heh, I cleaned out your students, and you're hiding your..." He then started looking at Chachamaru. She looked amazingly human, aside from her green hair and fin-shaped ears. "You call this a robot?!" He keyed up closer, scrutinizing her closely.

"Damn right, and she's  _my_  servant, so don't even  _think_  about it," Evangeline coolly responded.

Chachamaru, respectful as usual bowed. Mao could only faintly make out robotic whirring. "Indeed. I am an android, created by Satomi, and given magic power by Master," She aimed a fist, and it rocketed out. Mao only dodged by instinct. "As far as weaponry goes, I have a rocket punch, eye lasers, concealed bladed weaponry, and enhanced speed."

"Oh ho!" Mao said, rubbing his chin. "You've already got my interest, robot! And having such a fine female shell, I will appreciate the chance to experiment on you!"

"I told you, nerd breath, she's  _mine_ ," Evangeline hissed.

It was here Chachamaru began to falter slightly, poking her index fingers together. In a small voice, she added. "Negi-sensei also made me realize my soul."

That one floored Mao. "WHAT?!" He screeched.

"I... forged a pactio with him, three years ago," The blushing robot answered. "It gives me a satellite laser, capable of destroying large creatures—huh?" Chachamaru stopped when she saw that Mao had ceased all sane movement, and was only bowing his head down, a loathsome trail of drool on his person, and furthermore a wicked grin. "Subject is showing signs of excitement and evil intent." She dropped into a fighting stance.

'Excitement' and 'evil intent' were such understatements. He was huffing and puffing again, quickly segueing into maniacal laughter. "Heheheheh, mwahahahahaha! Mwaaaaaahahahahahaha!" It was enough that most of the Ala Alba members nearby stopped what they were doing to watch, obvious features of worry and annoyance crossing their faces. "This. IS. GLORIOUS! I  _must_  take you in for experimentation!" Mao roared.

" _Excuse you_?" Guess who.

Mao ignored her and already lunged to kidnap Chachamaru for study, but that was before an ice spell burst at his feet, and he was sealed in an eternal glacier. The other members of Ala Alba sighed in relief as Evangeline dusted her hands. "Goddammit, you mouth breather! Forget what I said, I'm kicking your ass personally!"

As if the spell could only hold him for as long as it held Asuna, Mao burst free. Though unlike Asuna, it took him some effort—more than supplied by his zeal. "This place is beyond my wildest fantasies! I don't think there's enough time in the day to experiment on it all, even WITH this contraption! Not even  _you_  are gonna stop me! Mwaaaahahahaha!"

"You little—I see you want to die today!" Evangeline didn't even bother with preamble, already throwing ice spells in Mao's direction. Still laughing maniacally, Mao swept his coat to counter the spell, and began to defend himself against Eva's assault.

Negi just blinked.

"He's completely batshit..." Asagi sighed, horror and dejection on her face.

"Can I banish him?" Asuna asked.

"How vulgar," Ayaka remarked. "It seems those two have no self-control at all."

"Much like you with Negi?"

"Oh, you hush."

"Hey ladies," Cygnus called, swirling a hand and letting the smoky darkness around him swirl a bit. "As entertaining as they are, we don't have all day. You might be ready for Netherworld journeys pretty soon, but that means we have to squeeze out every ounce of training from you. Shounen rules and all that. I'll take over for today."

* * *

Near the end of the week, they got a slightly unexpected visitor. Well, unexpected for Ala Alba.

"Nice to see you taking care of yourself, boom!" Mr. Champloo had found his way up the portal, tossing a greeting to Mao and Satomi as the two of them were at work on the labs.

"Mr. Champloo! What took you so long?" Mao sniped, once again more to disguise the fact that he was glad to see a familiar face after a while.

"Who's that again?" Satomi asked.

"Mr. Champloo—unlicensed Home Ec teacher of Evil Academy!" Mao answered. "He's proved his worthiness to me a year back, when I was succeeding the throne!"

"Huh..." Came the response. "Dunno what that means, but since you trust him..."

"Anyway, what do you want?" Mao rounded back to the unofficial teacher. "I'm in experimental heaven! I haven't seen robots like this in forever~!" And the creepy overlord began to huff and puff again.

"Your current apprentice Cygnus came here in a hurry, said that you need to see this," He tossed him a letter. Mao stopped his horrifying drooling spree (which failed to actually horrify Satomi, as she could get like that sometimes) to catch the letter and scan its appearance—yet another one from Beryl. A grunt of approval left his mouth. However, with a more grim expression, Champloo added, "He said he'd be out for a while."

"Oh ho?" Mao leered at him. "So suspicious swan boy is on the move, huh? You know where he went?"

"Back to Gehenna, as far as I know."

Mao stopped to think for a moment. Both he and Champloo had largely agreed on Cygnus because they suspected he was up to something. Now for the first time, they had something to investigate. Mao's own interest in this situation was growing even more.

"You had this man do your dirty work, knowing he was suspicious?" Satomi asked incredulously.

"You should know the old adage keep your friends close and your enemies closer," Mao answered. "He may not even be an  _enemy_ , per se." He used his thumb and opened up Beryl's letter.

_Dear Mao,_

_Is the school doing okay? You better be taking care of it!_  ("Of course I am, I'm doing research!")

_Having a lot of fun times! Konoka is such a badass, helping us with bake sales, spreading acts of love and kindness, she was probably some sort of hero before she came a demon!_ ("Worst overlord...  _ever_. And yet so  _fitting_ , from what her friends tell me.")

_Bet you didn't know this, but the dark assembly down here was lacking in members, so we've been recruiting. Satsuki tells us they're supposed to be 72, but I'd be surprised if we got all that today._

_But..._ (Mao stopped at this. Beryl making some sort of concession? UNPOSSIBLE.)

_Something's weird. Konoka acts funny, and I think it has something to do with what happened to her three years ago. Somebody named Setsuna was near and dear to her, and she died, yet this weirdo who attacked us earlier claims that because of that, and some prophecy, she was going to blow up the world?_

_I'd investigate her heart and see if she has a heart bank account, but that's... honor studentish! However, there's got to be another way to find out what's going on with her and help her out. Gehenna's huge, and it's got a lot of history. I'll find it in here. Honest!_

_~Raspberyl <3_

Mao furrowed his brow. Things were slowly getting complicated, and their little friends just might have an uphill battle in reclaiming their healer friend. "Cygnus acting suspicious... this Konoka possibly under a breakdown..." There would naturally be no connection to that, but it seemed so awfully suspicious that both events would coincide so closely. Before last year, Raspberyl never would have dreamed of doing honor student things. She still didn't, but if he read this letter correctly, she all but hinted to him that she wanted him to investigate Konoka's heart.

"What are you going to do?" Satomi asked.

Mao tapped his foot, deep in thought. This meant he'd have to move a bit faster than he originally planned. And Negi's group was  _almost_ , but not  _quite_  ready for the Netherworld.

"Well, what do you think?" Mao whirled to the other two in the room. "I'm going to get to the bottom of the mystery that is Konoka Konoe...  _in the name of SCIENCE_!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, don't count on constant updates. Real life busy, sucks, yadda yadda. I'm wrapping up the recruitment arc, and moving on to what I imagine will be the first Heart Bank arc! Do keep reading! Reviews and crit appreciated, flames used for smores!


	10. Chapter 9: Onward!

"I'm going to get to the bottom of the mystery that is Konoka Konoe...  _in the name of SCIENCE_!"

There was a quiet pause for that. Luckily for Mao, none of the other two occupants really had any objections. In the week she had known him, Satomi could really resonate with this demon's work ethic. He was truly a demon of science, and despite all of his drooling over Chachamaru, he was even more impressed that Satomi was her creator. To see him with a new goal was both disappointing and awe-inspiring, but far more the latter than the former. "You really are amazing, aren't you? Throwing away the ethics of the White Wings for more scientific knowledge! I could cry rivers of happiness!" So while she didn't do that, her eyes did water while she smiled widely.

"I'm glad to see you haven't lost an ounce of spice! Boom!" Mr Eme—err Mr. Champloo added.

"Damn right I am!" Mao clenched his fist, grinning madly. "And I've got an open invitation to investigate! Someone wanting to end the world before I take it over is NOT going to fly!"

"End the world?!" Satomi gasped. "What was in that letter?!"

"Bad news, and I don't think Ala Alba is going to take it well," Mao answered, folding the letter back and putting it in his pocket. "As much as I'd love to drop some bad news on them, the last thing I need is all the interesting little humans throwing their lives away to save just one person. I need to make sure that person is worth it. So I need to depart to the Heart Bank—judging by the sound of things, Konoka should now have an account," He paused, as if another thought was wedging itself in. "Wait a minute, Cygnus is still on the loose! I still need to track him somehow..."

"Just tell Beryl to keep an eye out for him!" Mr. Champloo suggested. "There's nothing wrong with a little help from other cooks!"

"Easier said than done," Mao said. "Buuut I'll pass word anyway."

"One other thing, though," Satomi suddenly interjected. "The White Wings have ways of finding out things. The moment you leave off on your own to go look into Konoka's brain, they're going to be chasing you," She gazed evenly at Mao, and adjusted her glasses. "The whole way."

"I'd be an idiot to underestimate them, even if I managed to wipe out ninety percent of them with one hit," He griped, shaking his fist. "I need a distraction for them, too."

"Definitely have your work cut out for you, don't you?" Champloo observed, a grin growing on his face. "Don't give up! The most meticulous part of cooking requires that you gather all the right ingredients!"

"Speaking of cooking, do something about this place's cuisine. It's awful!" Mao raged. "I haven't had anything burn my tongue in awesomeness all week!"

* * *

"That's everybody, right?" Haruna heard Asuna hiss as she closed the door to the latter's dorm room.

"Not everyone. We're missing Kotarou and Natsumi," Chisame muttered, fixing her glasses. In three years, much of her personality had not changed—she was still the cynical, savvy idol under a hacker persona. However, she had rather taken her job as advisor to the White Wings, especially in absence of Eva. "And it looks like Ookouchi's skimping out again too."

"Good enough, we'll fill them in whenever the two lovebirds stop making out," Asuna concluded dismissively. Most of the Ala Alba had gathered, minus their acting leader Eva. In the ages since Konoka's now-confirmed-disappearance, Asuna and Negi had kept the dorm, despite the memories and the sorrow they held. With at least Konoka alive now, there was a bit of hope—and perhaps clues of final closure for Setsuna. But that wasn't the reason for their gathering here today.

Rather, as the small group of elite school-age heroes gathered around (and on) the couch, they had another person to discuss. Haruna sat down next to Yue as Asuna took center stage. "So what's the opinion on our demon duo Mao and Cygnus?"

"Lunatics," Yue supplied almost immediately.

"Dangerous," Ayaka added, beside Asuna. "But they seems to know what they're doing."

"Mao's amusing," Kaede remarked, small grin on her face. "But still a lunatic. No real opinion on Cygnus yet."

"You know," Negi said, arms crossed. "If he weren't such a pervert, I'd say he's not that bad."

"The hell are you talking about, big bro?" Chamo interjected from his perch on Negi's shoulder. "Being a glorious pervert is Mao's only redeeming feature!"

"Please be quiet Chamo before I'm forced to kill you in an act of mercy."

Chamo took one look at the girls in the room, nearly all of them sending him a dangerous glare, and promptly quieted himself.

"I think I'd rather second the 'lunatic, but knows what he's doing' part," Chisame Hasegawa muttered, arms also crossed, but expression far more annoyed than Negi's. "I mean, he actually taught us more about demons over the past week than we knew all during our trip to the magic world. But if I feel his goddamned eyes on me  _one more time_..."

"And Mao may be a pervert, but Cygnus is... mysterious," Asuna added. "I can't find myself trusting either. I dunno why Mao finds us so fascinating, and even Eva-chan thinks Cygnus might have some sort of agenda. I don't know how we fit into any sort of plans. They're not even cannibals."

"But what effect could we have on any plan of theirs?" Chisame added. "Not seeing it. We might be jumping the gun on this one."

Negi also added, "And like it or not, they're the only connection we have to Konoka-san," The thirteen-plus year old teacher looked a bit forlorn. "We've got to get her back."

"I'm worried about something, though," came the quiet voice of Nodoka Miyazaki. All heads stopped and turned to her. While a bit shaken by this action, she continued. "Well, Mao-san said that Konoka-san was a demon, right? She... may not be judgmental of demons, but she hasn't been one before. Had her time as one... changed her?"

Ala Alba paused to consider her words. Negi exchanged looks with Asuna and Chisame, Yue looked on sadly, and even Asakura and Haruna lost their usual grins.

Asagi was clueless, as usual. "You mean there's that much of a difference? Most of the demons I've seen just act like humans with pointy ears and ridiculous power levels..." She got stares for that one. "Shutting up now." Was the response, even if said stares weren't even hostile.

"Like it or not," Yue said after a moment. "We don't know how we might find Konoka. I don't know many, if any, demon overlords aside from Mao, and well... we know how Mao is." Most everyone nodded in agreement. "Mao enjoys crowing about how evil he is."

"Like Master?" Negi asked.

"You could say that."

"You guys worried Konoka might become an evil overlord?" Asakura asked, eyebrow raised. She tried to imagine Konoka, embracing evil, and trying to become twisted. She was not having much luck.

Yue shook her head, a wry, semi-forlorn smile on her lips. "Not at all."

"I don't think she works that way."

"My brain hurts just thinking about it," Asuna moaned clutching her head in agony.

"Maybe if the only admission into being evil was mercilessly teasing Sakurazaki, she might stand a chance." Asakura cracked, and there was a mild pause of laughter.

"I dunno, there was that one time where she played Anya," Negi said, scratching his head.

"And she's messed with Asuna plenty of times!" Haruna crowed. This caused the twilit princess to scowl, making Haruna's grin that much wider. "What's the matter, Asuna? You mad?"

She was about to snap back when a whiff of... something stopped her. "Hold that thought!" Asuna froze as an unfamiliar smell crept up her nostrils. She sniffed once... and then twice. "You smell that?"

Ayaka paused and smelled it as well. "It smells like cooking..."

Ku Fei perked up. "Fine Chinese cuisine! Could it be...?!" And without a second thought, she burst out of the door, not even caring about anyone else's opinion over the matter.

There was a moment of silence as Ala Alba, minus one Chinese girl, let the smell slowly permeate and invade their nostrils. "Augh, that smell is making me hungry too," Asuna groaned, and her stomach growled in agreement. "I think we're gonna have to conclude this meeting later..." One by one, they left Asuna's dorm, following the strong smell of Chinese food outside.

"You know, I haven't seen Mao-san all day..." Well, most everyone but Negi.

* * *

"Hyahyahyahyahya!" Boisterous laughter greeted the White Wings as they stepped into a wide sidewalk. A massive cart, decorated with reds and oranges, stood in the middle, and it had already obtained a small crowd of curious onlookers. At its center stood one man, standing tall in the center. "Come one and come all! Chef Champloo is opening up shop in Mahora Academy, and now's the time to enjoy a free sampler!"

Of course, Ku Fei was already there, pigging out.

"Whoa... he's serious!" Chisame gasped at the sheer variety and fervor the man displayed. "Spicy curry, Mu Shu Pork, Meat Buns..."

"It's got everything!" Ku Fei crowed, tears of happiness flowing down her cheeks as she pigged out over the variety of foods he was offering. She eventually reached her spicy curry, swallowing it...

...and belching out hot flames into the air. Spicy had apparently evolved into cartoonishly hot levels. "I haven't had food do that to me in ages! I want more!"

"I don't think your average cuisine is supposed to make you breathe fire..." Kaede remarked suspiciously. "Still, I can't help but be intrigued. Maybe this food would allow me to create a new technique..."

Asagi, a bit slower to catch up to the others, had already recognized the smell before she showed up, and took her sweet time in coming nearby. "So you're out here too, Mr. Champloo?" She asked, eyes alight with curiosity.

He paused for a moment, staring at Asagi as if he didn't recognize her. When her face switched from impassively curious to annoyed, he laughed. "Ah, Asagi Asagiri! Long time, no see! I was wondering where you escaped to!"

"Geez, don't joke around like that!" Asagi stomped her foot in annoyance.

"...you know him?" Came the questioning looks of the rest of the White Wings.

"Yep. One of Mao's little vassals," Asagi explained. "He was around when we were looking for... hey wait!" But alas, all of Ala Alba were way too hungry to pay attention past that first word. She sighed in annoyance, especially as her stomach complained that she needed the same thing as well. "Ah well..."

* * *

"This is a magnificent distraction if I say so myself," Mao crowed, enjoying Mr. Champloo's curry, as he had snatched a portion earlier. "Those poor fools! They haven't had a good home-cooked meal in years! I doubt they'll notice me gone before I'm halfway through Konoka's heart!" To be honest, it was such a good distraction, and there was so much camaraderie that there was actually a tinge of disappointment that he could not stay.

"Good luck," Satomi said earnestly. "Or bad luck, whichever demons like more. You'll need it." She and a few other scientists were making preparations to activate the seal. While Mao could travel along it on his own, making the seal active kept him from wasting his strength and making it super obvious to all the demons at home that he was returning.

Mao nodded, and finished his meal. From this point, he needed to get to the bank and investigate fast, and then return before Ala Alba got any bright ideas and tried to follow. They were not yet ready to see their friend. Not yet.

And then one voice ruined everything.

"Mao-san." There of course, walking into the lab as if he were about to face down a final boss, was Negi Springfield.

Mao shook his head in annoyance. "Why am I not surprised," He then pointed a frustrated finger in Negi's direction. "I don't remember shounen heroes being this noisy... or annoying!"

"Well, that's your fault," Negi said with aplomb. "You should know that shounen heroes go all the way for their friends, main character or no."

Mao grit his teeth. No dodging that. Still, he crossed his arms and stared Negi in the eye. "Did the others follow you?"

"They did not, but I wanted to make sure you sneaking off was a good reason," Negi answered. "So far, I'm still on the fence."

"Heh," Mao's grin returned, though not as sharp as it usually was. "You might not like what you discover about your Konoe friend. Judging by your reactions, the fact that she's a demon has already thrown you for a loop!" Negi's expression changed slightly, seemingly into dismay, but he steeled it back into determination. "Still, you yearn to know, yes?"

"I must," Negi answered, face stone serious. "She was— _is_ , one of my precious students."

And then something clicked in Mao's head—letting Negi come by may be a good idea after all. "Fine! You win!" He made a show of throwing up his hands. "We're not packing any bags, though. Better hope your body odor smells good!"

Just as well, the portal was finally open. Mao and Negi paused as it flared to life, inviting them downward into the demon world. "Let's go. I'll introduce you to the demon world."

Negi smiled.

Both he and Mao stepped into the darkness.

* * *

In her room, Konoka wept.

In a pitiful attempt to shield herself from the world, Konoka's wings were fully extended around herself. Whatever strange influence that came over her at times could not be reached, and it was here she felt the full, awful weight of her crimes. "Secchan..." she sniffed, tears streaming down her face. "I still don't understand. Why would I ever...?" She lamented, curling into herself. "I don't want to end the world... but what if he's right? How can I live without you?"

Konoka did not know she was no longer alone, not until a voice spoke up. "But you must." The voice startled her out of her tears, but she did not move until it continued. "Otherwise, everything she did for you may be in vain." The voice was so familiar to her, and yet she couldn't place it—Konoka knew that voice came back from Mahora.

But when she turned finally, she saw herself looking at Prinny K. The squinty-eyed prinny had his flippers folded behind his back, very similar to someone she knew back at home—but yet she still could not place it. "Prinny K-han? Why are you here?" She asked softly, trying to wipe her tears away.

"Obviously, because I'm worried si—err I mean I came to discuss some matters with you, and here you are sobbing your eyes out! Ars Goetia will render you mincemeat if you show up like that," He chided.

Konoka tried her hardest not to cry again. "I don't want to be that weak, but what if I really do wind up losing control?"

"Hmmm..." Prinny K paused. He regarded Konoka for a bit before continuing. "I'm not sure where I heard this, dood, but a wise man once told me that 'Courage is the real magic.' Probably back when I was alive, dood." He grinned. "That, and some serious training. I know I had to do that to become as strong as I am now—these bodies are pretty weak at everything except surviving explosions."

Curiosity struck the overlord, and she blinked owlishly at him. "Really?"

"I should tell you about the time I came here, dood!" He added sagely. "To tell you the truth, I'm pretty young for a Prinny—I showed up here just a year and a half ago. I actually could have gone to heaven—or rather, Celestia, if I wanted, but something drew me here instead!"

Konoka was in awe. "You traded heaven for this place?"

"Good idea once I arrived here, dood." Prinny K answered. "It seemed that this place was in shambles, and a bunch of demons were running around looking for an overlord. I had to look, too, because I had no boss, and how could I pay for my sins and reincarnate without one, dood?"

Konoka remembered the prinnies and their explanation on how their souls worked the first day. Since they were such nice creatures to do her work, she ought to pay them somehow—she'd need a secretary for this!

"Well anyway, I learned that three years ago from now, some lunatic by the name of Zegnant ruled this place, all until a nasty blitzkrieg attack struck the castle, and in the confusion, a soul he tormented struck him down. Alas, this soul, now the new overlord, was hidden away. I had to fight a bunch of crazy demons, including succubi, baciels, this scout thief who looked a lot like somebody I knew when I was alive, a bunch of robot clones of Zegnant, all vying to find this overlord for their own ends..." He rattled off a list of various demons. "I even had to fend off this corrupted Super Hero! I didn't get the whole story, but it looked like the fallen Super Hero wanted to use this maid to create the perfect overlord—no way I was gonna let that happen! He might have gotten away, though..."

That sounded almost incomplete, and she was certain to go follow that up.

"And of course... the remnants of Ars Goetia."

"You fought them, too?" Konoka asked. "What were they planning?"

"They were in a bad mood from when their numbers got reduced, and this hunt for the current overlord wasn't suiting them well either. Andras wanted revenge. Yui was upset that somebody had beaten her to the punch. They picked up leads on where the current overlord was stashed away. I didn't like their plans... so I had to beat them to the punch.

"The King of Dust was much nastier then than he is now. He hoped to gain control over the castle, and by extension all of the souls that flowed through here. It was an incredibly tough battle, but I managed to win. Lo and behold, I found a tucked away hallway, leading me up to the sealed away chamber. Nobody had discovered it yet, due to a strange barrier that the King could not yet figure out.

"Imagine my surprise when I found you," Prinny K's voice was quiet. "You looked quite sad in your sleep—and alone. And yet I felt a presence that told me you were not alone. As long as you keep strong, you will never be alone. I too, remembered that, and I decided.

"I went back down, to the defeated Ars Goetia, and I named my victory prize for beating them—I wanted membership. While annoyed, I did kick their butts, and they saw no recourse but to agree. With that, I swore to keep an eye on you."

Konoka put a hand on her heart. To know that a single prinny had changed her fate... well, she was honored. But a question remained, "Why do so much for me?"

Prinny K simply huffed, a soft smile on his beak. "The Konoe family line never disappoints, dood!"

"You know of my family?" Konoka gasped.

"You could say that, dood," He grinned. Both of them could make out some familiar voices just outside her room. "Well, I suppose that will have to do for now. I'll tell you more about my past later, dood—though you might already know it." He gave a Prinny salute. "It might be counter-intuitive, but make Ars Goetia a little stronger. I've tamed the worst enough so they'll help! Later, dood!" And he hopped out of the window, just as Satsuki burst in, with Raspberyl, Asuka, Kyoko, and Flonne at her rear, holding onto the leading cook.

"Konoe-san!" Satsuki called out. "We need your help in cooking!"

Konoka blinked at the smattering of her close friends, and smiled. While she was most certain that Prinny was far too familiar for her not to know of his identity, she couldn't quite place it just yet. She shoved that to the back of her mind, and began to approach her friends with a good recipe.

* * *

The next day, Konoka met a familiar enemy, even if he wasn't an enemy anymore.

"Waaah!" Konoka shouted, point an incredulous finger. "It's you again!"

"Why young lady!" Count Hermann von Wilhelm, with his bowl hat and grizzled human form, bowed towards her. "I wasn't expecting you to have become a demon overlord. Rest assured, I'd be glad to serve on your dark assembly."

"Do you know him?" Flonne asked, once again sitting by Konoka's side.

"Yeah, he and Negi-kun fought once, and he put a stone curse on Negi-kun's village!" Konoka claimed.

"That's bad!" Flonne exclaimed.

"Ah, but you still have the power to change that fate back," Wilhelm said, his face serious, but his smile still present. "I suppose you have even greater ability to do that now, if you're not interested in ending the world, that is."

"I'm not interested in ending the world!" Konoka immediately snapped back. But she gave pause to his earlier words. She quieted down immediately, remembering his words that she had enough power to free the petrified villagers. She'd do well to remember that promise.

The knowing look on her face made Wilhelm beam quite brightly for a demon.

"Well then, I'm certain I'll be glad to see the results, young Konoe heir." And with some good-natured laughter, Wilhelm von Hermann departed the scene. Konoka and Flonne stared after him.

"He seems pretty friendly for a grand, evil demon," Flonne commented, and Konoka simply nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Wait a minute! I know you!" A startled Konoka pointed a dramatic finger in the direction of another new recruit.

And by new recruit she meant familiar face.

There was surprise in the newcomer's face as well, but it was far more reserved. As well, it quickly changed to a small, knowing grin. "I know it's been three years, but I don't think I'm _that_  unrecognizable." She cast a glance at Konoka. "You've changed quite a bit yourself. Guess I'm not the only demon around."

"Well," Konoka looked forlornly at her tail. "I wasn't like this the whole time."

"You'll find that not a lot changes." Her visitor said with aplomb. "For instance, I still offer services for a fee. Of course, that means I won't be sticking to just Ars Goetia, so I can add a helping hand to your personal cabinet if you want."

"I see," Konoka cheered up. "When's the last time you've seen the others?"

"I paid them a visit a few months ago. They're holding out all right." She gave a knowing grin, and Konoka felt a weight lift off of her. The overlord smiled in turn. "They'll be relieved to see that you're still around."

Konoka's face fell, however, when she thought of her other half. "I wish I could say the same about Secchan..."

Her visitor's face lost most of its emotion. "My condolences." She took a sniff of the air. "Well, it feels like she's still nearby."

Konoka blinked at that, not even sure how to react.

"Well, I'm seeing how much Ars Goetia is worth. Later," And in full demonic glory, Mana Tatsumiya left further down the hall.

It was Flonne's blink. "Is this a small world for you?"

Konoka just stared back. "I don't even know."

* * *

It was about time.

Konoka ventured down to the concealed chambers, Gehenna's very own prison. It's about what she expected for a dungeon, though the prinnies' paint job made it much cheerier instead of the typical dank, black place prisons tended to be. But she couldn't help but notice that whitening the castle gave it a modern, yet empty feel.

Resolving to try and solve her own problems, Konoka decided that she'd confront all the people that tried to kill her on her own today. Stepping quietly, she decided her first visit would be the duo Koyomi and Tamaki. Dynamis would be unlikely to provide any answers—and the younger duo would likely more relate to her. Perhaps she could learn what happened to Ala Alba more, aside from Dynamis's interventions, and maybe help build a bridge with herself, and maybe her friends.

Of course, she was no fool. Digging around the library previously allowed her to try a small spell—Regen. It was stealthy, and it would negate poison subtly enough that mages couldn't immediately figure out what was going on. She cast it on herself, steeled herself, and then marched through the door. What greeted her was... surprising.

The two girls were sharing a kiss.

Konoka stared, shocked for a moment, somehow not registering on their radar for that moment. However, she could see the obvious romance growing between them, and she was immediately sparkling with delight. Of course, that's when they actually noticed her, turning towards the overlord with a frightened glare.

"W-what do you want?!" Koyomi hissed, not letting go of the dragon girl.

"Oh, don't mind me!" Konoka said, her eyes sparkling with the notion of ROMANCE. "Please continue!"

"Super pervert!" Koyomi accused.

"Ultra pervert." Tamaki stated.

Konoka of course, was on the denial. "I-I-I'm not a pervert! It was totally about the romantic feeling!" When Koyomi and Tamaki raised their eyebrows, more incredulous than disbelieving, she continued, "Listen, I just wanted to extend to you an offer, and ask a question or two."

This got the duo suspicious. "Offer?" Tamaki raised her eyebrow.

"What purpose would you have for such a thing?" Koyomi said, leering at the overlord. "Are you trying to blackmail us?"

Konoka sighed. One think about Cosmo Entelecheia—they were always tense, especially the younger set. But well, she wanted to extend the olive branch, and that much she would. "No. Honestly. If you say that Negi-kun lived and perhaps saved your world, then I have no further issue with you guys either."

Their features softened. Koyomi looked slightly regretful. "He didn't quite save our world yet. But he was certain that he knew how. As did the Twilight Princess."

Konoka immediately remembered Asuna, and whispered her name.

"If anything, it was her," Tamaki quietly added.

"Yes," Koyomi murmured. "She, along with Negi, single-handedly turned the tides. They even convinced the Gravemaster to follow through."

Konoka wasn't sure who that was, but made mental note of it. "In any case, you were only doing what you thought was best, and I can't blame you," She gave a sad smile, and her voice threatened to choke up. "It's enough to hear that Negi-kun's alright, and me becoming... _this_ didn't screw anything up." She lifted up her tail, a sad look on her eyes.

"We wonder..." the beast girls chorused, making Konoka flinch.

"Still," Koyomi continued. "I doubt your little transformation is at fault. I'm curious, however, on what kind of deal you want with us."

Konoka took a deep breath and sighed. "I was hoping you'd convince some others for my sake, that no, I'm not trying to end the world. I want you two to join Ars Goetia. Walk out of jail free, and serve in my cabinet. And yes, I'll look into helping you with the Magical World."

The girls paused. They were wary of such an offer—become Konoka's underlings instead? Really? They exchanged looks. Finally, they stared back. Koyomi gave a pointed glare as she concluded. "You're serious about that, aren't you?! We'll be holding you to that, as well as Fate-sama!"

Konoka tried not to flinch at the glare, and stood strong. "I'm serious."

"Fine then," she and Tamaki bowed deeply. "Consider us members of Ars Goetia."

Konoka gave a soft smile.

Koyomi raised her head and gave a small grin. "If I'm impressed and you do half the stuff you say you'll do, you might even see more of this... romance." She held Tamaki's hand tightly.

"Really?" Konoka's eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas.

"No... not really." Tamaki drolly answered.

"Awww!"

* * *

"What's up with you? You look like you're deep in thought." Raspberyl's voice shook Satsuki out of her reverie.

The cook wasn't startled—she had been aware of Beryl's presence for some time. She turned to the diminuitive demon, a soft gaze of concern on her features. "Could you tell me more about... a Heart Bank?"

"Heart Bank?" Beryl blinked for a moment, before the idea cinched itself in her head. "Oh! Well, the Heart Bank is a place where demon hearts are stored. It's kind of like being able to tour your memories in real time." She had gone over it before, but it was always kind to have a refresher.

"Where's the closest one?" Satsuki asked. "Does... Gehenna have a branch?"

Beryl's face contorted in confusion. "I don't know."

"Of course it does..." Came the echo of a voice, and a swirl of sand came into view. Forming from it was none other than the King of Dust. That hollow red glow that represented his eyes leered at the duo. "I am a regular visitor there."

Satsuki remembered this monster—the leader of Ars Goetia, who basically tried to sand tomb Konoka and herself when her powers began to leak dangerously. She gave him her best leer, much like those hero types do when villains make their appearance. "King of Dust..."

Beryl, wary of the sudden change of atmosphere, looked between the two. "Umm, what's going on here?"

"Forgive me for that careless attempt the other day," The undead dragon said to Satsuki, smoothly ignoring the other demon. "If I really wanted you dead, there would be far better times and places for it, plus an actual benefit. I don't see any now or in the near future."

"Not exactly filling me with confidence," The cook stared back evenly, despite the awful fear she felt just for being in the same room. "I suppose you know where it is, then?"

"Of course," King of Dust spoke again, and now even Beryl could get a sense of fright from being nearby him. "I will escort you there. I have a little research I need to pick up there. I believe you want to see our current overlord's state of affairs in her heart, yes?"

Satsuki had to pause. The King of Dust had an obvious agenda—and she worried she may have been playing right into it. And yet, it seemed that she had nothing of worth to gain from harming either of them. Maybe as long as she didn't have or give him something to mercilessly take from her, she would be fairly safe. She turned to him. "I think we've been running on one huge assumption. Doesn't Konoka need to know about her Heart Bank account for us to visit it? Does she even have one in the first place?"

"Actually, she does not need to know," The King answered. "The heart will also trust anyone close enough to her. As for if she has one... I am almost certain she does. Personality changes do not come easy for many demons, let alone odd shifts in power. It merits an investigation, at least."

"He's right," Beryl said, now used to the chill effect enough to go on as normal. "If you're close enough to her, you can wander right in. Still have to deal with security, though. I did some sneaking around in Mao's heart before."

The cook rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Should she sneak inside there? She didn't want to sneak around Konoka, not with this girl being so busy and yet so vulnerable. But at the same time, getting to the bottom of what happened three years ago would be key to solving these ills about her powers and people being afraid of her enough to declare that she would end the world. And whether or not he was twisted, the King of Dust's logic was not wrong.

A firm decision came to her mind. "I'll go."

Beryl looked slightly worried about that, "Sure you can trust him?"

"Look out for Konoe-san for me. I'll survive this and get back here somehow." Satsuki gave Beryl a calm smile. She then turned around to the devilish King. "I'm ready to go whenever you are."

"Very well then," the King of Dust's snout upturned in a dark grin. "Outward, towards the back edge of this kingdom." As the both of them left, Satsuki traded looks with Beryl one last time. The short demon nodded in determination before barreling off back towards the depths of the castle.

* * *

Her second visit through the prisons that day would be the assassin. She had more questions for the mystery woman, the fallen angel that, she had believed at first glance, tried to kill Flonne. She learned it was a failed attempt on her instead, and she sought to ask why.

And Dynamis? Hell no. He was far too steeped in his ways to give her anything new. Konoka opted to visit Fate on that.

Of course, she kept up Regen. As much of a failure as that assassin was, it was certainly not because she had little experience with weaponry or accuracy; she merely underestimated Konoka herself. The demon queen steeled herself, and then marched through the door. What greeted her was... highly suspect.

Her prisoner was bound to a small chair in spider webbing. Her state of dress had not been changed since she clawed it away. And she was breathing hard, her face red with... shame, perhaps. Konoka's mind slammed the panic and concern button, immediately shouting, "What did Yui do to you?!" And she was already checking her over, looking for wounds, though she oddly found none.

"...I wish not to speak of it," came the answer.

Konoka frowned. "Are you okay?"

"...more or less," came a much gentler reply. "I have survived much worse, like actual pain." She gave Konoka a cursory look, soft eyes alight with wonder. "I was expecting a crueler overlord, but you are naught but a healing class with exceptional power. To be prophesied to ruin the world is nothing short of ridiculous."

"...you know of that too, huh?" Konoka sighed sadly. "I don't understand this at all..."

"People fear what they cannot understand or grasp—and that goes for demons, too," came the soft voice of the assassin. "Perhaps they feared the power within you."

Konoka had to think about that. The only hint she ever had right then was the name "Amaterasu", which, if she remembered correctly, was the Japanese sun god. She didn't study very much of her family history, and now she was somewhat regretting she didn't—maybe they had a connection to Amaterasu as well? "I don't really know. I guess I'll have to figure it out." She looked down at the captive. "But why did you come after me in the first place?"

"I cannot say," the woman stated. Konoka frowned with her prisoner suddenly becoming uncooperative.

"Why not? You were so friendly before!" Ah, to be naïve, Ms. Overlord.

"I was never good at being stealthy, and yet they insisted that I—" She suddenly stopped, as if an epiphany had occurred. The prisoner fallen angel was silent, brewing on these thoughts. When she finally broke the silence, she said, "I see now."

Konoka paused, not liking the way the conversation suddenly shifted. "What? What did you see?"

"I see why I failed. They will come for me," Those earnest eyes looked back into Konoka. "But you know what? I believe you'll do the right thing, too. Hopefully they will see that."

"They? They who?" Konoka queried, trying not to raise the pitch in her voice too much.

"The Erinyes."

* * *

Somewhere else in the castle, the elegant maid Mei finally found her room. The sheer size of Gehenna never ceased to amaze her, no matter how many times she had been here. But judging by the way Ars Goetia was congregating, this would be an interesting stay.

Quietly, Mei picked up the old fashioned telephone she had just unpacked from her suitcase. While she could have easily used a spell or a cell phone (and the former actually comprised her methods of dialing out), she had an odd fondness of this type of technology, something that the person she was about to contact would always tease her mercilessly for.

She spun the dial on the phone a few times, then held the receiver to her face.

An elegant voice answered. "Yes?"

"I'm inside. This place is actually quite calm now."

"Is it? Well, if you say so, Mei." The maid could hear the other lick her lips, as quiet a sound that was. "I'll move everyone into position, and call you back when it's time to strike. I suppose I can finally inherit the throne meant for me a thousand years ago." And that was punctuated with an impish giggle.

"Yes, ma'am," And Mei hung up the phone. It felt good to take orders again.

**-X-X-**

"Oh no! Negi's been kidnapped by Mao and snatched into the demon world!"

"Ummm, Asuna-san, I have not been kidnapped."

"Of course you've been kidnapped! You wouldn't want to have gone there willingly  _without us_ , now would you? Otherwise we'd might have to do  _very bad things_  to you!"

"...errr of course I was abducted! SAVE ME ASUNA, I'M GONNA BECOME A DEMON!"

"A little too late for that."

"Mwaahaha! You are  _so_  busted when you get back!"

"Don't think for a moment  _you're_  getting away with it! Anyway, it looks like we'll have to fast forward our plans to catch Konoka, and figure out what Mao's up to! Next time on Disgaea: Gehenna's Holy Queen—the Heart Bank arc!"

"Dive into the Heart, and SUBMIT TO DARKNESS! Mwahahahahaaaa!"

"...that's enough Kingdom Hearts for you."


	11. Chapter 10: Dive Into the Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beginning the Heart Bank arc, Mao and Negi journey into Konoka's heart, the same time a new enemy appears...

For first time in his life, Negi wondered why demons didn't traumatize him into loathing them. There was the pressing issue of how demons razed his village. Maybe it had something to do with his current state.

Here, deep within the Netherworld, or more specifically, Evil Academy, Negi felt oddly at ease. Or at least, not as nearly as on edge as he thought he would be. Sure, amongst Mao's school were various demons of many creeds, but they weren't just the hulking, mercenary beasts he met on his adventures, even if they looked only similar in stature. There were demons here that looked surprisingly human, other than unearthly skin tones and pointed ears.

"Ah... Asagi-san was right," Negi murmured.

"Let's get on with it! We don't have all day!" Mao snapped, motioning Negi to follow him through his lab and downstairs to his main castle foyer.

Ah, home again. It'd been a while since he last stepped foot here, having lived with Ala Alba in the human world during this time. He'd be going back there quite a few more times, but it was nice to have home so close at hand. And speaking of such, he was now bragging about it. "Welcome to Evil Academy! The finest school for raising evil-hearted demons!"

"Haruna-san would fit right in," Negi quipped, observing a demon pranking another by use of a tripwire and a pie to the face.

"Damn right she would!" Mao bellowed. "I bet there's a  _few_  of your harem members would love this place."

"Again with the harem business..." Negi sighed. He was apparently never going to live this down. "C'mon, I have no desires into making those people my slaves... especially for dirty stuff!"

"Mwahaha, you act like it's a bad thing that they  _want_  to do it!" Mao crowed, making Negi stop his ranting short. He came across the main hall, where several of his minor vassals were congregating. A dimensional gate, active but not fully prepared, was still being tweaked. "The circumstances that surround you absolutely fascinate me. The bloodline of a legendary hero, the education and ruthlessness of a shinso vampire, even going so far as to shed your humanity to protect your friends. They don't compose heroes like you anymore!"

Negi stared, shocked at Mao's last part.

"You think I didn't know that you took in Magia Erebea? Your glamor might work on those ordinary types, but both Evangeline and I know that you've been walking the path of twilight for years now." Mao's face was far more serious, despite the grin on his face. "Take it from someone who also hangs between light and darkness."

Negi rubbed his head and looked on. For a crazy, creepy nerd type, Mao seemed to know his stuff, if only because of genre-savvy. "I guess there's more to you than meets the eye." Negi said, a small smile on his face. "I suppose with you on the case, we can find Konoka faster now. I don't know what kind of situation Konoka's in, but I'm hoping I can get a better understanding."

"Enough about those things," Mao suddenly cried, noting that his dimension gate had FINALLY been prepared. He missed the sheer speed and readiness of Geoffrey already. Wasn't his ultra brainwashing done yet?! "The dimension gate's ready. We're heading to Gehenna's Heart Bank!"

* * *

That was  _it_. Sir Sweet was going to let her  _have it_!

Nevermind the fact that his profits had doubled. Nevermind the fact that Satsuki's recipes were actually gaining improvements. No, Sir Sweet was pissed because he was actually having a craving for something that  _wasn't sweet_. He grit his teeth, before actually knocking on the front door to the castle.

He couldn't believe his luck! The overlord herself answered, peeking out before opening it for his comparatively diminutive self. "Hello! Long time, no see!" She said cordially. "I take it the business is going well?"

"Well ah, yes," the short Moab replied, strumming his fingers over his staff to keep his mood in check. "You should be getting your share of the profits any day now..." He wasn't about to fume over how humiliating this was, especially since Konoka was so... nice about it. Not even any wheedling about her apparent superiority!

"That's good!" Konoka nodded. "So what brings you out here?"

Now was the time he could strike. "I have to commend my former assistant... Satsuki was her name? Yesss. Her recipes have made amazing improvements since she was last under my care!" He sneered. "But I'm under the impression that cooks work best under me! I mean, I have worked with her for a year."

Konoka rankled her face, horror briefly flashing in her eyes.

"Ah, I still remember that day, going on a pleasure cruise and finding a strange hole to the human world! Back then, she was already baking a wonderful chocolate cake! From then, I knew I had to snatch her." Yes. She looked easily pushed about, and maybe if he hit all the right buttons... "It's been a wonderful year..." And he whipped out his staff, assuming a fighting stance. "And I intend to make many more, after I take her back." This was it! With her stunned at his glorious evil admittance, he'd have one shot at taking her guard down and knocking her out.

Except it didn't work that way. Her eyes glassy, she answered with a simple, "No." raised a finger, and holy lightning smashed him in the face just a moment later.

"Gah...!" He slowly fell backwards until he hit the ground... then tumbled down the staircase.

A prinny, artfully dodging him as it swept the stairs, simply said, "I warned you about the stairs, dood."

"Shut up...!" He moaned weakly.

Moments later, Konoka reappeared, flying down to the pained Sir Sweet and frowning. "Oh no! My powers are going crazy again...!" She notably extends no effort to heal him fully, only helping him back up on his feet. She frowns at that. "I'm sorry, but there's no way I'm giving up Satsuki-chan. I'll have some leads I discovered on the G-sweet sent to your house next week, so please don't try to steal her." There was a pause. "Oh, and by the way, do you know anything about the Erinyes?"

"Eryngas?" The Moab King asked, confused.

"No.  _Erinyes_." Konoka's face was stern.

"Not a clue. I've only heard about a particular breed of fallen angel being especially good at revenge kills. That might describe them, but I don't even know otherwise." He snorted and stomped off, not interested in being humiliated further. "I'm out of here. Farewell."

Konoka sighed and watched him trudge out into the horizon. She turned tail and went back inside to search further.

She failed to notice the black-winged females sail into the castle from above.

* * *

Nodoka Miyazaki knew days like this would come.

Champloo's food was truly filling, but being a practiced heroine, she could tell when she was being distracted. Negi was missing.

A quick and quiet summoning of her book and an attempt to read Negi's mind failed—definite teller that he was not nearby. Even focusing her mind, to expand her aura enough and get a better range failed to pick up anything. Where did he go, and so quickly?! Nodoka frowned and headed off back towards the dorms, keeping a worried hand on her book. She was already panicking, and she had only noticed this for a moment. Not good!

She paused and took a deep breath. Which by that time, Yue had followed up behind her. "What's going on, Nodoka?"

"Negi-sensei's missing," Nodoka murmured. "I can't find him. My book's range is better, so it seems like he disappeared off the face of the campus."

"He's gone?! Just like that?" While Yue tended not to show strong emotion very often, even her face had obvious shock.

"What do we do?!"

"Don't give up Nodoka," Yue gripped Nodoka's shoulders, trying to calm her down. "Remember the combined spell we drafted?"

That indeed worked, partially because Yue was awesome and partially because Nodoka wasn't heavily panicking in the first place. Still though, they had formed this little spell as a countermeasure to Negi's own personality—he may not want to involve others in his investigations, but they wanted to at least know where to hitch a ride to in a hurry, if they had good reason to believe that he was in danger. Nodoka nodded. "We're only seeing where he is."

Without even passing a glance at the others, Nodoka and Yue completed their trek to the dorm.

That didn't go unnoticed, though. Asuna happened to be looking in their direction as they disappeared, and Asagi raised an eyebrow, as if something plot relevant was passing just outside her vision.

* * *

Turmeric decided that this was probably the worst armory  _ever_.

Who in the ever-loving hell decided to put all the elemental weapons together? That shit could  _explode_! Or worse. With even the narration showering italics in rage, Turmeric grit his teeth as he began to re-organize the multitude of weapons, grumbling about the poor care of weaponry—in italics. His sister would be proud.

On further thought, however, he remembered Lunzard's words from earlier—to go find Konoka a weapon. And naturally, organizing this place might let him find a weapon suited for the young overlord—one he found he didn't mind serving. Being super hot was just one of the perks. Honestly.

But lo and behold, he found he was not alone.

Much to his delight, there was a young lady also in here—how she got in without him noticing, even he didn't know. She had on a simple black dress, though it bore white patterns, and a pretty face highlighted by pitch black hair and a blue headband. She was quietly examining one of the rapiers, before noticing Turmeric's eye. "Ah." She blinked. "Sorry about that. This place just makes me a shade nostalgic, is all." She bowed, showing black wings folded behind her back.

"Not a problem!" Turmeric said, attempting to saddle up to her. "So,  _come_  here often?"

She stared blankly, but inoffensively at him. "Not quite."

"It seems that you may need more  _passion_  in your life!" Turmeric crowed. Picking up one of the fire swords, he swung it around in a clear display of bravado, then thrust it in the air. "I would be glad to introduce you to the  _flames of passion_!" He was so heated, he failed to notice that the sword had slipped out of his hands. Or the fact that said woman made a small motion with her hands at that moment.

"Be careful on how you play with fire. You could get burned," said the young woman. "I have something to do, though, so maybe later." And with that, she left him, just as he noticed the sword land down behind him. He panicked, as he was close to some  _very_  reactive swords. He swept over, jumped, and caught the sword, standing it still before it could react with its brethren.

He sighed with relief, then remembered the young girl, and his burning passion reactivated—activating the sword.

Somewhere outside, the woman in question walked away as she heard the room explode, not even batting an eyelash.

Turmeric, charred with dust, groaned in frustration and pain. This was going to take a long while, even if only the swords were toast.

* * *

With her book down in front of her, Nodoka focused on her magic, drawing her thoughts towards Negi. It seemed so basic to her now, even with the level of concentration she needed to establish the link once Yue pulled off the spell.

Speaking of, Yue drew her own power, thinking of a basic search spell, and applying it sharply enough for a near universal scale. Maintaining this sort of thing was a huge magical drain, but it only needed to work long enough to find Negi's signature. "Telepathic Mind Link: Negi Springfield," Yue intoned. She tapped Nodoka's noggin. With someone to hone in on the spell burst in a nigh invisible but easily felt aura.

It only took a few moments but the spell was done. Nodoka felt the connection snap into place, and judging by the lack of feedback, Negi was none the wiser. To her relief, she found the words of his mind slowly seep onto her book.

"Looks like it worked," Yue noted. "So where is he?"

Nodoka looked down at the words forming in Negi's head. "He's with Mao-san, heading towards the bank in the demon world." It took a moment for this information to process between the two of them, but process it did. And when two and two finally made four...

"Wait, he's  _IN THE DEMON WORLD_?!"

Nodoka and Yue's shared cry was like a beacon of summoning for nearly every Ala Alba member who wasn't already en route to Nodoka's room.

Like Asuna and Asagi, for instance. "Did somebody say Negi's in the demon world?!" Asuna roared, bursting open the door like she owned the place. Asuna immediately stomped to Nodoka. "There better be a good explanation for this!"

"There is!" Asagi piped in. "There's something plot relevant going on down there!" But she was ignored.

"Trust me, I want one as much as you do!" Nodoka gasped at Asuna coming in so close. "Wait...! Something else is happening!" She gazed in and began to read the words aloud...

* * *

"Yes! This is always the most exciting part!" Flonne cheered, eyes pinned on the TV.

As Super Hero X boasted his righteous speech of justice, Konoka peeked in, trying not to disturb Flonne's euphoria over seeing the new sentai anime. Konoka herself was almost tempted to stop by and watch, but she had other things to do. Unfortunately, talking to Flonne was one of those things. "Flonne-han?" Konoka ventured.

"Now go forward, Hero X! Show the world what you're made of~!" Flonne twirled in excitement.

"Flonne-han!" Konoka called out a bit more loudly, somehow putting more power behind it.

Flonne jumped a bit and whirled to Konoka, giving her a salute while she was at it. "Konoka! I'm sorry! It's just that the show was so good, and...!"

"Flonne-han, Flonne-han,  _please_! I didn't mean to scare you like that!" Konoka said, bowing profusely. "Well um, I just had a question or two to ask..."

Flonne smiled, taking a moment to use the remote to pause her video.

Konoka got right to the point. "Do you know who the Erinyes are?"

Flonne drew a blank. "Ah... not much," she gave an embarrassed smile, and absently rubbed the edge of her mouth. "I've heard of different sects of fallen angels forming many years ago before I was around, including the cleric demons that I saw in Laharl's place... but Seraph Lamington cut down on fallen angel appearances since. I think the Erinyes might be one of those groups."

"I see," Konoka said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Would any of the books have information about that?"

"Maybe," Flonne said. "What's got you interested in them, anyway?"

"That failed assassin mentioned them, in a way that makes me think they might be pulling an unwelcome visit," Konoka said darkly, to which Flonne gasped. "I need to know as much about them as possible before that happens."

"Oh no! That can't be good!" Flonne cried. Standing at attention, she gave a salute again. "I'll keep vigilant! Count on it!"

"Thank you," Konoka smiled. "I'll be running around, but I'll be back to enjoy this, I promise!" And she flew off, heading deeper into the halls. Now that she thought about it, though? Lunzard's advice would be really handy about now.

Flonne knew things might not look so good in the future if she wasn't wary, so she needed to go on patrol!

...as soon as she finished watching this episode of Super Hero X.

Flonne was so focused on finishing and enjoying her show, that it was a while before she noticed the second person watching it with her. And well, Flonne had been in tune with the power felt from others, as she had felt Konoka before her brain registered that Konoka wanted her attention. And yet, this newcomer hadn't been noticed before Flonne literally saw her.

"Wah!" Flonne gasped, nearly falling backwards over herself..

"Eep!" Shrieked the other girl, apparently shocked that she had been detected. However, this newcomer quickly bowed and apologized. "So very sorry! I didn't mean to sneak up on you like that!"

"Ummm, that's okay!" Flonne tried to mollify the other girl, before stopping to look at her features. Her clothes, consisting of a blouse, capris and platform sandals, seemed dark, in contrast to her fair skin. Her bobcut hair also seemed dark, but she was certain that the small wings adjusting themselves behind her were pitch black and feathery. "...why are you here?"

"Hehe," The newcomer gave a small chuckle. Flonne noted how cute her face was. "I came to see a friend. Unfortunately I got lost. And well, Super Hero X kinda makes me nostalgic. You know which steps lead down to the lower quarters?"

Flonne blinked before giving a wide smile. "Well, it's always the center spire that gives access to the floors above, right? I think you'll get to the lower sections easy enough if you follow that."

"Okay, thanks!" She smiled, letting her black wings flap to maximum power, and was about to leave again.

"...hey wait!" Flonne called.

Her visitor was in the air, but stopped and regarded Flonne without dropping down.

"I haven't seen you before! What's your name? I'm Flonne!"

The young lady gave a small, sad smile. "Tayuya. It's not likely that you'll see me again."

"What? Why not?!" Flonne called back, as the girl named Tayuya prepared to leave again.

However, her only answer was, "I'm on a mission," and promptly flew off.

Mildly perturbed, Flonne sat back down, returning to her video in a confused haze. That girl, why was she liked that? She seemed friendly enough, so what kind of mission was that? She thought back to the girl and her pleasant, cute face, her black wings, and how she had almost stuck around to watch Super Hero X...

Wait a minute...! Black wings? That assassin that tried to kill Konoka had black wings!

"Oh no!" Flonne gasped, stopping her video! "How did I even miss that?! I've got to stop her!" And she burst out of the room, in pursuit of a fallen angel long gone.

* * *

The pristine, marble halls marked the entryway to the Gehenna Branch Heart Bank. Satsuki sighed in relief. Finally, she was here.

It was a pristine, if gray and melancholy place. The opening hall was pretty wide, and well kept compared to the similar hall she had seen while being captive under Sir Sweet. Other than the grand wall of doors on the far side, it looked much like a city bank would. "So this is..." She breathed.

"Gehenna's Heart Bank," The King of Dust said. "A most wonderful place for demons to keep... secrets." He gave a dark grin. "Though, if you're close enough to a person, you can walk into their heart, and do all sorts of... heart breaking."

She shivered—she wanted no part of that, even realizing who she was talking to.

The King of Dust continued, "For all intents and purposes, a gloriously evil being like me sees this place as little more than a bank to store information or memories. For those with bleeding hearts like your overlord, perhaps it's a window into her psyche. If there are dangerous beings within, how they operate will be clear. If you can survive, that is."

Satsuki frowned. Naturally, whatever—or whoever—she was up against, could possible counter her very wishes. And she was facing this person entirely alone. She wasn't entirely sure what the King of Dust could gain from helping her.

But then, she heard a rather familiar voice. "Y-yes, Konoka-san does have an account here?"

She had been gone for more than a year, but not even the change of puberty could disguise the voice of her former teacher—if he were even trying to disguise it. She stepped tentatively until Negi came into view, standing next to a slightly taller white-haired boy wearing a red coat like a cape. "Negi-sensei?"

Negi paused, and then looked over. "Satsuki-san?" To which the boy beside him added, "Who's that?"

"Satsuki-san! It really is you!" Negi gave a broad smile before launching himself to her side in an instant. "Are you okay? After you left last year...!"

* * *

"Satsuki-san? She's down there?" Asuna gasped. "How the hell did that happen?"

"She failed that scholarship last year, especially when everyone thought she was a shoo-in..." Nodoka frowned. "Supposedly, she hunkered down and left for a vacation, but we haven't heard from her."

"I take it she left before I showed up," Asagi murmured, to which Yue nodded. "Yikes. Was she part of Ala Alba too?"

"No, but we were mostly good acquaintances," Yue answered. "I can't even begin to figure out what went wrong that year ago."

"It's good that she's alive, but..." Asuna shook her head. "Negiiii! I wanted to go down to the Netherworld too!"

"What's this about the Netherworld?" Came Kaede's voice, and she suddenly appeared, as all ninjas do. "Does this have to do with Negi-bouzu disappearing on us again?"

"Yep."

"Hold on, something else is happening!" Nodoka held up her hand and pointed at her book as it formed more words.

* * *

"I'm fine. Totally fine," Satsuki giggled, surprised at Negi's strength when hugging her.

The King of Dust looked in disdain. "Hn, mortal affections. Disgusting."

Negi gave pause to look at Satsuki's travel partner. "And you are?"

The King faced him. "King of Dust. I'm here on separate business."

"...right..."

"Mwahahaha! How frightening," Negi's partner walked closer, gazing at the King of Dust as if he were a future boss fight. "The power I sense from you is truly frightening! And you!" He turned to Satsuki, eye just as critical. "You're but an ordinary human! I wonder how you've lasted for so long down here."

A beat. "Konoe-san has been protecting me," Satsuki answered simply.

The King of Dust snorted. "Pathetically, I might add."

"Konoka-san has?" Negi questioned. And then something clicked in his mind, and then urgently, he turned up his questioning speed. "Is she okay? How has she been? Have you seen Setsuna-san anywhere?!"

"Please calm down, Negi-sensei," Satsuki said, placing her hands on his shoulders. "I don't know the entire story, but I'll explain things as much as I can." And so she did—from being rescued by Konoka to the recent fits, as well as Cosmo Entelecheia.

Negi frowned as he learned of that news. "I thought Asuna-san beat some sense into those people... though I'm glad they're not causing any more trouble. But Konoka-san's nature is worrying."

"That's why I'm here," Satsuki said. "I want to figure out why she's acting that way."

"That confirms a few things for us as well," Mao added. His face turned into a grin, however. "That means more research is necessary. Why don't you join us? The Heart is not a safe place for humans to wander alone."

Satsuki looked uncertain.

Negi looked back at the King of Dust. "Was he going to help you?"

"Not a chance," the undead dragon answered. "I simply led her here. I have my own research to conduct."

"Then Satsuki-san, please come with us." Negi said, staring at her earnestly.

The cook was quickly reminded why the entire class liked him so much. "That's fine with me, Negi-sensei."

Negi beamed.

They looked to see that the King of Dust had already went up to the counter, where the long standing clerk had been patiently waiting. "Hello, and welcome to the Gehenna Branch of the Heart Bank!"

The King of Dust leered at her, a woman with dark hair and faintly visible black feathered wings. "I'm here to visit my heart. Those three fools are not associated with me. I need to make a few... exchanges."

"Are you sure you don't want to get a bank expansion? Your heart is still three sizes too small to handle much more input." The clerk answered with a bright smile.

"It's a wonder I don't kill you where you stand. I've been needing a soul to study."

"Okay, here's your key!" The clerk produced a small, golden key, though dull as if exposed to sandstorms. "May your trip be aimless!"

The King of Dust sighed and shook his head. "I'm not bothering with this," He turned to Satsuki. "When you're finished, meet me in this foyer. The way back may not be as clear cut as you think." And he disappeared deeper into the bank.

Negi stared after him. "I'm just a bit wary of him, to be honest."

Satsuki shook her head. "Negi-sensei, he is not a foe you want to face. Not yet." That, and well, his knowledge was yet useful, not worth ignoring everything just because he happened to be unbridled evil.

Mao adjusted his glasses, face serious. "She is correct. He's beyond your level at the moment. And he hasn't started anything, so no need to lose your cool just yet."

Negi sighed. The other two had a point. "Let's get going then." The three of them together approached the bank clerk. "So can we see Konoka-san's heart?"

"I'm sorry, but the heart does not trust everyone present. Only those that this heart trusts can come through." The clerk said with the same smile. Somehow, though, it sounded much more menacing to Satsuki. Was it the tone, or was it a dangerous aura that she felt?

"Oh come on! We're only going in for a tour!" Mao crowed. "We have no aims of making her  _good_!"

"The rule still stands."

"Shall I change your mind, then?" Mao crossed his arms, and he let his powerful aura flare.

Without changing expression, the clerk pulled out a bow and arrow, and took aim at Mao's heart. "Try me."

"Hold it!" Negi shouted, stepping between them. Both parties relaxed their stances, though their auras remained. "I know that he seems untrustworthy, but if I keep watch of him, I promise he won't interfere. So please... let the three of us through."

It took a moment, but the clerk finally stood down. She knelt down, dug in a drawer for a moment, then popped up, holding a small, silver key that seemed to shine brightly. "It seems she's permitting you to enter, however subconsciously. I can't guarantee your safety, though. The boy with red hair must lead." She tossed the key to Negi, who caught it with a single hand.

"That's fine with me! We can do more than take care of ourselves," Mao declared. "And as I said, we're only doing a tour."

The clerk resumed her normal happy stance. "May your trip have meaning!"

* * *

"Yep, Mao is insane," Asuna concluded.

"I've been telling you that since he  _got here_!" Asagi complained.

"I know, but it's so true that even Captain Obvious has to state it a few times to drive the point home."

"Ughhh!" Asagi shook and hung her head, thoroughly defeated. "Character development is harder than I thought. Maybe I shouldn't have abandoned operation  _Overlords and Overkill_..."

"The hell are you talking about?"

"Hey guys!" The boisterous voice of Kazumi Asakura announced the reporter's presence as she and the ghostly Sayo intruded. "Have you seen Negi-sensei anywhere? Or creep demon Mao?"

The only answer she got was everyone that was already there pointing at Nodoka's book. And two words: "Demon world."

And muted by this for the moment, Asakura and Sayo peered at the notes as they formed in her book. "They're going into Konoka's heart?" Sayo asked, blinking. "How does that even work?"

"Konoka's heart?" The group all scrambled and jostled around Nodoka's seat, trying to make sense of this new revelation. "How do they even do that? And why the hell is Konoka's heart at a frickin' bank?! And why is  _Mao_  going in?!"

"Demons are just weird, don't ask me," Asagi threw up her hands in frustration. If 3-A got weirded out by the smallest things, there was no way they could understand what else they might see.

* * *

Konoka hoped that the lower library would have better information—and perhaps less appearance from the more hostile of Ars Goetia.

She flew in, eyes scanning the books and keeping an eye peeled out for some book—any book that would have some history on it. She came to a stop when she was in the history section. Quickly, she thumbed through a part of the selection and came across one book. Thumbing through it didn't give her anything. She went through another, and then another, but to no avail.

She paused when she heard a meow. Turning behind her, Konoka saw Anise, in cat form.

"Hehe, short time, no see!" Konoka said, gazing down at the witch in cat's clothing.

With a poof of smoke, Anise was in demon form again. "Hmph, I'm not even sure why I come down here. It's not getting me any closer to my glorious prince."

Blinking, Konoka asked, "Who would that be?"

"Ah, my sweet prince! His legendary power! His sexy antennae! Oh how I long to be his~!" The witch had twirled about, becoming lovestruck.

Konoka just giggled at that.

"I'm not so sure he'd dig your snoring," came a voice. Landing above on a smaller bookshelf was Lucas, giving Anise an impish smile. "Then again, I hear he's something of a heavy sleeper."

"Oh, shut it, you!" Anise snarled and pointed an angry finger in the dragoon-like boy's direction. "Do I need to divulge  _your_  secret crush?"

"Secret crush?" Lucas repeated in confusion, before her words settled in his mind, and then he blanched. "Oh no. Please don't!"

"Mwahahaha!" Anise crowed, running a hand through her hair and flipping it in triumph. "This is why you're pathetic in romantic matters!"

"Pathetic in romantic matters? Rich coming from  _you_ ," Lucas's grin returned, holding his spear by his side. And thusly they bickered for a short amount of time.

"Umm, excuse me?" Konoka lifted a finger, trying to catch their attention, but that failed. So she tried a little louder. "Excuuuuse meeeee! Have either of you heard of the Erinyes?"

It seemed that the key thing that caught the bickering demons' attentions was in fact "Erinyes" and not the fact that Konoka's voice managed to get louder rather subtly. "Did you say... Erinyes?" Lucas ventured quietly.

"Yeah I did." Konoka said cautiously, as if she worried she stepped into some bad news.

Lucas furrowed his brow. "I haven't really heard much about them, but that name seems so familiar. I think they were a sect of fallen angels who kept to themselves in the Netherworld."

"That's what Flonne-han told me," Konoka affirmed. "I'm wondering if there might be some other source that I could borrow that would tell me more about them. Apparently one showed up on our doorstep, and more might be coming... on less than friendly terms, unless I'm quick."

Lucas frowned. "We'll keep vigilant." He pawed his spear tightly.

Anise, however, had other questions, notably from the implications of Konoka's words. "What the hell did you do? You put one in jail, didn't you?" However, she sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, it's not like any evil overlord wouldn't have done the same thing."

"She tried to assassinate me!" Konoka said defensively, despite the fact that Anise was no longer on the attack. "I at least had to figure out  _why_!"

"Your first assassination attempt on you? Wow, and I thought you were too good for that to happen," Lucas actually clapped, having notable amounts of marvel where sarcasm should have been. "The fact you managed to handle it so coolly is amazing!"

Anise snickered at Lucas's shining optimism. With her sugary sweet voice, she added, "Ooh boy, lone assassin like that working for an unknown group? I hope you prepared for her buddies."

"That's what I'm trying to do!" Konoka countered in frustration.

"Maybe you should ask that scientist about it. Lunzard?" Lucas suggested. "He's probably fielded assassins before."

"I guess," Konoka sighed, but easily picked back up to her cheery self. "I'll go find him and see if he can beef up our defenses. You guys take care, okay?" Konoka gave a quick smile before flapping her white wings and flying away, looking for the angry demon inventor.

After a moment of silence, Anise shook her head. "Maybe it's just because she used to be human, but she's hard to read sometimes."

"I dunno, her cheeriness is infectious," Lucas added. He gazed to where she fled the library and smiled. "She reminds me of my brother, in a way."

"Brother? Claus?" Anise ventured. "That brother?"

"Yeah, him."

"Oh boy..." Anise sighed. A beat passed, but the overly-syrupy walk down memory lane she was expecting did not come. "Lucas?"

"Wha—ah, huh?" He snapped back to attention, and gazed at Anise. "You know, I just remembered something."

She raised an eyebrow at this. "Huh?"

"Something about the Erinyes!" He shouted, urgency rising in his voice. "I've got to tell Lady Konoka about it right away!" And he burst off on foot to the edge of the hallway—only to slip, fall on his back, and crash into the wall. "Ow!" A moment passed. "That was only a minor setback!"

"You idiot! Don't be so clumsy!" She yelled at him.

However, as Lucas groaned in pain, a prinny dashed by, pushing a wet cloth all over the floor as if he was mopping. "Wheeeeeeeeee dood!" A moment passed, and he dashed right by again. "This is awesome, dood!" And another. "Whoohooooooo dood!"

Anise stared at the prinny for a moment before her sweet voice came back. Tapping her wand on the ground, she asked, "Could you tell me what's going on?" And her sweetness turned incredibly sour, as it was apt to do. "Before I  _blow you to smithereens_?!"

"Don't do the hate, dood!" The prinny answered, still addressing her as he slid to and fro. "That demon maid Mei taught us how to do the floors, dood! Takes half the time and work, and double the fun, dood!"

Anise sighed and shook her head. However, a voice made her ears perk. "Ah, Mei's at it again."

Followed by a second. "No wonder some demons don't like clean floors."

And then a third. "This makes things so much easier!"

Looking up, she saw a triad of what appeared to be fallen angels, though they seemed to have pitch black feathered wings rather than the red bat-like wings Flonne had been known for. All of them wore dark colors. "Eh?"

Lucas, on the other hand, after recovering, followed Anise's eyes to see the three angels above. He paled. "They're already here." He breathed.

"It's more appropriate to say that  _we're back_ ," one spoke. All three rose and lunged for an attack.

* * *

This was the ultimate darkness now, as Mao, Negi, and Satsuki opened the grand double doors and stepped into Konoka's open heart.

As decreed by the rules, Negi had to lead—he was the most familiar with Konoka of the three there, and he also bore enough curiosity to match Mao's. Despite not seeing much, he felt his feet hit solid ground, as did Mao and Satsuki behind him. A glance down, however, showed that the ground was in fact, stain glass steps leading to a tower, one emerging from a blank, black abyss. "This must be... Konoka-san's heart." He concluded softly.

"No duh!" Mao retorted, noting that the darkness here wasn't even obscuring his eyesight, but felt more like what he did see was a blank slate. "Though this looks wildly different than the inside of my heart. I wonder if the insides reflect the personality or something of the person on the outside, then."

"What do you mean?" Satsuki asked.

"Hmph," Mao crossed his arms. "My heart's generic background was clean shades of glass, like an icy wasteland in space. This one feels... entirely different. It  _has_  to be ripping off something!" They stepped to the first tower, and the three took a glance at the rather ornate glass pattern of Konoka in the center. "Oooh, well look at this! She even curls up like a sleeping princess!"

"Where did you even come up with a comparison like that?" Negi asked. He looked back on it. "I don't remember her having horns, or a tail... or Setsuna-san's wings. Is this her... demon form?"

"That's how she looks like now," Satsuki explained, gazing at the familiar form immortalized in the stain glass floor. "From what I've seen of her, Konoka doesn't seem all too disturbed about all of her additions... even if she's worried about what they  _mean_." She gave a soft smile. "That tail of hers is dangerous, though."

"Dangerous?!" Negi gasped.

"Oooh, sounds interesting!" Mao crowed, rubbing his hands together. "You must tell me more~!"

"Only if you stop drooling," Satsuki calmly countered. But Mao didn't, and Negi only looked confused, so she left it at that. Negi shrugged and moved on, the other two following him to another trail of stain glass steps and deeper into Konoka's heart.

* * *

"You know... I think I've seen that stain glass business before," a voice chimed in.

"Haruna?!" Asuna, who had been intently watching Negi's mind process what was going on, had been surprised when said perverted mangaka had appeared right beside her with her own commentary. "How the hell did you get in here?"

"How the hell could I  _not_  be here?" She answered Asuna with a grin. "Everyone disappearing and going off to Nodoka's room, you think I wouldn't be curious enough to find out what was going on?"

"Point taken."

"Speaking of which, it looks like Konoka's got a tail. I bet there are all sorts of naughty things it can do!" She smiled deviously and rubbed her hands together. "I'm glad Satsuki caught on."

"Before you even think about it, if I see  _one_  doujin about that, I'm setting your ass on  _fire_ ," Yue muttered, deadpan ("I can help!" Asagi volunteered.).

"Geez, what do you take me for? I'm not that depraved," Haruna waved off her threat—and waved off all the other coughing that all vaguely sounded like "Yeah right!"

* * *

Onwards they marched, up to another tower—this one lined with a shelf of a few things. Gathering closer, Negi, Mao, and Satsuki could see it was a shelf mostly comprised of old things. Small toys, relics of her old home. And sure enough, when Negi checked the design under their feet, he saw what looked to be a much younger Konoka. "Toys?" He blinked.

"Touch one! I dare you," Mao challenged, grin on his face.

Satsuki blinked, something about his challenge feeling wrong. "Wait... Negi-sensei...!"

But Negi's hand reached out and touched a small blue ball, decorated with stars, before her words registered in her mind. By the time he thought that maybe listening to Mao was a bad idea, the world around them changed.

Gone was the stain glass tower, instead replaced by smooth earth, and walls of a great Kyoto estate. "Konoka-san's home..." Negi breathed.

"What?" Mao asked, voice raising as if demanding explanation.

"This is obviously Konoka-san's home," Negi elaborated, much louder for the other two to hear this time. And true to his word, he saw the younger Konoka playing alone. She was soon joined with the appearance of the Shinmeiryuu—and the child Setsuna. Indeed, he remembered that Konoka described this first meeting to him back in Kyoto three years ago.

"Mwahaha~, just as I thought," Mao said, rubbing his chin. "These are in fact her memories. They seem fairly intact. Touching those objects activates those memories." Mao saw some sort of magazine lower on the bookshelf, and touched it. No reaction. "Most of them, anyway."

"Very strange..." Satsuki said. But as she looked at Konoka and Setsuna playing, she noticed something off. "Wait... what's with Sakurazaki-san?"

"Huh?" Negi blinked. He looked at the child representation of Konoka's childhood protector. "She seems... slightly opaque."

"Oh?" Mao leaned in closer, looking at the memory of Konoka and Setsuna playing together. He lurked in closer, much to the surprise and dismay of Satsuki and Negi. The latter even tensed—enough that Mao felt it, but he ignored that. Much to their relief, however, Mao's nosing around did not disturb the memory at all. "Well, she does seem a little too sepia compared to the memory around her. Maybe it's been tampered with..."

"Tampered?!" Satsuki gasped. "Why?"

Negi, fist shaking and on the offensive, immediately barked, "Who would mess with Konoka-san's mind?!"

"Oh, there's all sorts of reasons demons could mess with each other's minds!" Mao crowed. "Maybe they wanted to play a joke on her memories? Or remove something embarrassing she knows about them?" His voice grew a tad darker following that, though. "Or how about trying to make her evil enough to be the ultimate demon... to  _slay_? It's happened before."

"Mao..." Negi hissed. "I'm going to find out more. I'm going to hope that whoever's been messing with Konoka-san's mind, if there is such a person, has a good explanation."

"Me too," Satsuki said, not even bothered by Negi's attitude, as she felt way too similarly to care.

"Well then," Mao said as the memory began to fade. "Let's move on!"

They turned away, moving towards another glass staircase. Satsuki stopped for a moment as she swore she felt eyes on her, but turned away, dismissing it. Of course, as it dictates, her suspicion wasn't wrong—the child Setsuna in memory stared right at them for a moment before fading away.

* * *

"Tampering?" Asuna did  _not_  like the sound of that. Negi was far from the only person displeased about the idea of someone editing Konoka's mind for their own gain.

"I've heard that, if a demon is strong enough or trusted enough, he or she can alter people's memories..." Asagi answered, rubbing her chin. "Mao told me about it during his game."

"Game?"

Asagi shook her head. "N-nevermind." Not everyone could ignore the fourth wall freely.

"Well, we really don't know what's going on down there," Nodoka said, taking a moment out of reading and looking at the others' concerned faces. "Negi-sensei might be giving us a sneak preview, but the only way we can really find out what's going on is to ask him about it when he gets back..."

"Or go ourselves," Asuna finished. "You bet your asses we're going next time!"

"But for now, the best we can do is see what else Negi-sensei discovers," And Nodoka went back to reading, with everyone growing quiet again.

* * *

Raspberyl felt that it was her goal to keep the peace between Konoka and whatever element was after her. Whenever she wasn't cleaning up the place (and despite Konoka's cleanliness in general, there was still a hell of a lot of cleaning to do, considering the castle's sheer size), she had her minions tail Konoka—or at least hang out with her when she couldn't be present.

But considering how Konoka was flying about in the name of research, being too quick for even her to tail, this wasn't going so well. Kyoko could keep up, being ninja trained and all, but Beryl and Asuka struggled to keep up. As they had to stop and catch their breath for the fifth time, the shorter demon moaned, "What's going on? I haven't seen Konoka this riled before!"

As if timed to answer her question, Kyoko reappeared. "She's looking up things about 'Erinyes', apparently."

"Don't you think that Lunzard person would know about them?" Raspberyl asked, looking about. "From the way Konoka's running around here, I'm thinking we might have to ask him, too."

"True," Asuka agreed, looking between her charge and Kyoko. "I don't know what we're up against." After a moment, though, they were back in shape, and burst after Konoka again.

"You ask about the Erinyes?"

That voice stopped the trio in their tracks.

A flap of wings echoed through the hall as the group paused and turned around to see a young woman with black wings, dark hair kept in line with a blue headband. "Yes, a mystical race thought extinct long ago. A sect of fallen angels who took the call of vengeance. But we have been hidden in mystery for far too long, now." She gave a demure but faintly sinister smile as she made a curtsy. "We'll make our grand stage entrance by bringing about the end of the current overlord. You will stand down, or perish with her," and from that, the girl drew a rapier, glowing in such a way that Beryl couldn't tell if it was physical or energy based.

Not that it mattered, because she and her minions were seeing red from someone declaring that she was going to kill the overlord.

"How  _dare_  you!" Asuka snarled, holding her sword tightly, arched into a fighting stance.

"Fallen angels, acting like honor students? Totally uncool!" Raspberyl shouted, her book open and ready to fire spells.

"We're her friends, we won't let you do as you please!"

"I see we might be making our grand stage  _exit_  if we're not careful," the black-winged female seemed to draw back a bit, as if intimidated by the trio. "No matter. I have faith in our leader. And my partner, too." She lunged.

It seemed too easy. Kyoko and Raspberyl dodged. Asuka just sidestepped and parried, followed by a swipe to her side. The angel was fast enough to swiftly dodge, followed by a quick whirl to the neck, intended to lop Asuka's head clean off.

It was a failed gamble though, since Asuka not only dodged, but lunged again. The fallen angel once again dodged backwards, but that only landed her in Kyoko's attack, a painful chop to the neck. She was knocked out cold.

Surprised by the ease of it, Raspberyl remarked, "That went surprisingly smooth."

"Yes, she seemed weak, even though that chop was with all I had," Kyoko added.

"Even so, we can't let an assassination plan on Konoka go!" Beryl bellowed. "We've got to find her! There could be others!"

"Like  _me_."

It was a brief moment of silence, but in about a span of a second, the three were standing together, and then a fist slammed into Kyoko's face, sending her sprawling across the hall and  _out the window_.

"Kyoko!" Asuka screamed, horrified by how brutally fast that was.

But even she couldn't catch a break; though she managed to see the flying figure that knocked Kyoko astray, she couldn't even prepare her sword before a powerful, flame-tinged uppercut smashed into her chin. Asuka was sent sailing into the ceiling, where she crashed, before falling to the ground with a heavy thump.

"Asuka! Kyoko!" Beryl screamed, aghast at the sudden turn in battle. Slowly, her horrified mind turned to face the new aggressor.

She too, was a fallen angel type, complete with black wings, Her hair was dark brown and short, barely reaching her shoulders. She wore a simple blouse and dress like the other one, but her fists appeared as if she had dunked them in oil, fashioned by fire. One of said fists was clenched tightly as she raised it, as if she were going to aim it like a gun. "We run by a code of avenging our allies. If one goes down, the rest of us hit harder!" She wound up her fist. "Let me smash you with all the force of Lirael's anguish!"

Gritting her teeth, Raspberyl flipped open her spellbook. "Not before you apologize for taking down my friends!" Even in the heat of battle, flipping to the perfect spell was never a difficult task, and she was already upon one of her favorite openers.

"D-Rule 1: Morality!" Her fingers curled before pointing at the new angel. Red orbs formed into existence before swarming her. However, the pugilist Erinyes merely let the bursts graze her. She tightened her fist and aimed a punch at the last one, and it seemed to get sucked into her hand. Beryl gasped, shocked that her spell had been ineffective... for the most part. "Too fast..."

"It gets better," the Erinyes hissed through her grin. In moments she was in Beryl's face aiming a punch. Beryl was fast enough to close her book and use it as a guard, the book being magically enforced in the first place. The fist collided with the book, burning with Beryl's very own power, sending the diminutive demon flying back. However, she landed on her feet, skidding to a stop before standing straight again. "Wait, those fists...!"

"These fists of mine burn with an awesome power! The darkness they're soaked in tells me to beat you!" The girl cried, all while twirling her body to aim a few more punches. Beryl flipped backwards to avoid the assault, but due to the proximity of the wicked Erinyes, couldn't launch a counterattack. Dammit, even though she felt far stronger than this girl, Beryl was a sitting duck if she couldn't launch any sort of counterattack! The Erinyes continued. "For the sake of my people, these fists will hammer justice down your thick skull!"

She flipped further backwards, bouncing off the wall (and avoiding another punch) in an attempt to space herself further. "Wait a second! You're the villain here! You're not allowed to spout hero lines! That was Super Hero Aurum's gimmick!" She began to draw magic power, trying to prepare another strike.

"When all the clear cut villains are gone, evil is whoever you happen to disagree with," the Erinyes' voice was surprisingly quiet and even, compared to the hot-blooded yelling she had earlier. She looked up, a grin on her face. "My name is Marie, and I happen to disagree with that overlord of yours." One flap of the wings later, and she was already flying at Beryl for another attack.

Teeth grit, Beryl snarled and launched her counterattack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sudden jump in hits? HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...
> 
> Well, I am getting to work getting this up. Be sure to drop your reviews and concrit!


	12. Chapter 11: Even Deeper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even deeper into the mysteries of Konoka's heart, meanwhile, Konoka is attacked at home...

Lunzard Torque had better days. For all of his blathering about the security, he had yet failed in actually getting it up to snuff. Hours and hours of tweaking the technology and magic involved was a painful process, and if he screwed up something even once, the process had to start all over again. What wasn't helping either? His nerves.

A single beat of wings nearby his lab was all it would take to make him jump fifty feet in the air and start whipping out a gun and shooting madly out in the hallway. "Arrrgghh!" BLAMMITY BLAM BLAM BLAM.

He only stopped when he heard someone scream and crash into a wall moments later. Confused that he actually caught someone, Lunzard stepped outside. His face switched from morbid curiosity to his usual heated annoyance. "You idiot! Watch how you step into my lab next time!"

Flonne fell there, horribly dazed. "Owww... I'm sorry."

"Why are you running around down here, anyway?" Lunzard questioned. "Don't you have some... silly activities to do with our current overlord?"

"Oh, but it's bad! It's a really big emergency!" Flonne said, standing up tall after dusting herself off. "Konoka's under attack! There are assassins after her!"

"Really," Lunzard raised an eyebrow. "If she has any shred of overlording, she should be able to handle it on her own to a point. Anyone worse will be meeting me for certain." He smirked. "Wonder if she has any leads yet."

"They're called the Erinyes! And Konoka captured one, so all the others are going after her!" Flonne filled in.

From that, Lunzard paled visibly—tough to see with his rather dead skin tone, but it was certainly visible. He had to stiffen from curling completely under defeat. "No... they can't be..." He curled a fist in frustration and bellowed, "Shit!" He turned to Flonne, nearly exploding before running back towards his lab. "Why didn't you say so sooner?! I've got to activate my security measures! Why couldn't Zegnant be less of a repugnant fool?!"

Flonne blinked at that. "Zegnant?"

"If there was one thing Zegnant was especially good at, it was working against the Erinyes. With him gone, nobody here stands a chance against them." He did run back into his lab, but only for a few moments. As soon as Flonne had decided to follow him again, though, he was out again, in a furious walking pace. "As it stands now, as much as I am loathe to deal with them, only Ars Goetia can force them out. If you meet them, absolutely do NOT attempt to fight them!"

"What?" Flonne wasn't planning on fighting them anyway, but to see that suggestion come from the normally disagreeable mechanic seemed to stun her. "Why?"

But Lunzard didn't answer. He was already out of earshot and back upstairs.

Flonne pouted. "Ooohhhh...! What now?" Her only choice was to keep up the pursuit with Tayuya. On her leathery wings, she flew off.

* * *

"Isn't there supposed to be security here?" Satsuki asked of Mao. "I mean, one (fairly powerful) bank teller can't possibly catch everyone who has ill will for someone's heart."

"Who knows? She should, but Konoka's probably a goody-two shoes with no exposure to mind manipulation! It may be lax as a result!" Mao exclaimed as they walked up the stairs. But alas, when one speaks of the devil, they arrive.

"Hold it right there!" Shouted a voice.

Negi whirled around to see... "Konoka-san?"

But he didn't see Konoka—at least, not as he remembered her. This particular Konoka wore sharp glasses, and was in an equally sharp business dress. She wielded a fairly shiny ruler, which seemed to reflect oddly around its edges. But this was still Konoka. She adjusted said glasses, frowning down on Negi. "Messing with memories is not allowed within the confines of Konoka's heart!"

"We got that memo way back," Mao muttered, not sure why this particular heart resident annoyed him. "Although if the memory tampering I'm seeing her is any indication, you're not doing your job very well, are you?"

"Konoka-san, is that you?" Negi asked, daring to believe.

Her face didn't soften, but her tone did. "I can't make any more exceptions, Negi-kun."

"She's not... she can't be," Satsuki murmured.

"Of course she isn't!" Mao objected. "She's a heart resident, and is one facet of your little yuri girlie's mind! She appears to be a censor of some sort," He adjusted his glasses. "Though taking specific jobs in the mind... is she more organized mentally than I am?" He rubbed his brow with two fingers, deep in thought.

"So that..." Negi turned back to this odd Konoka. "You live here?"

The heart resident Konoka ignored his question, though, and turned to Mao. "Get lost! I won't let you interfere anymore!" And like lightning, she burst forward towards the duo, ruler at her side like a sword.

Satsuki wasn't close enough to be of any danger, but Mao and Negi had to sidestep. And even that wasn't good enough, as a moment later, they found their shirts falling apart into tiny shreds.

"Eh?" Negi blinked at his shirt disappearing, revealing toned muscles and a battle scar as well.

"Huh?" Mao blinked, staring at the pieces of clothing as they fell to tatters. Mao, despite his nerdy countenance, was at least toned as well.

* * *

But back in Ala Alba land, the majority of girls were suffering horrible nosebleeds. Must be the atmosphere.

"Geez, it's not like things like this are rare, but why now?" Yue complained, trying to somehow stem the flow of blood from her nose. And it was all Nodoka could do from passing out. Even Sayo was trying not to lose ghost blood... if that were even possible.

"Is... is this the power of a harem male lead?" Asagi asked in pure amazement, trying to stem her own loss of blood.

"What the hell is wrong with you people?!" Asuna complained, apparently not suffering a nosebleed. "You see him like that all the time!"

"Doujins..." Came a voice, and everyone stopped and turned around to face Haruna. With her eyes blank and a grin that would make the Joker proud, she continued to smile insanely. "There will be doujins... glorious amounts of them!" She immediately turned tail and began to run away to give birth to her unholy ideas.

Asuna immediately leapt at her and caught her by the arms, straining against the madwoman. "Somebody help me stop this crazy woman!"

The door opened. A very confused Chisame stood in the door. "Do I even want to know what's going on in here?"

"Negi-sensei and Mao-san have invaded Konoka's mind," Sayo explained, hovering over to the net idol. "They're not very good at it, though."

"This look more like Haruna's testing out a new doujin." Chisame muttered. But rather than leave like she wanted to, she stayed put. This looked too interesting to pass up.

* * *

Negi looked at the absence of his shirt and frowned. "That's not cool."

"What are you talking about? The fact that our shirts are shredded for fanservice, or the fact that this yuri girlie is now annoying me?" Mao folded his arms across his chest, a slight scowl on his face. "Cuz quite frankly the style of being perverted doesn't suit her character at all!"

"I wonder about that..." Satsuki raised her eyebrow at the display.

"Excuse me?!" The censor Konoka bellowed. "I don't do perverted!"

"Oh really?" Mao dropped into a chilling grin, showing all of his sharp teeth. "Then what do you say about... THIS?!" He tucked a hand into his jacket-cape and unveiled... a magazine. The odd heart-Konoka gasped, and suddenly struggled with a fresh nosebleed. "Yeah, I thought so!"

"Mao-san, what is that?" Negi peered curiously over to his side to see the magazine in question.

It was a pinup magazine titled, "Secchan Weekly".

"...what the hell."

* * *

"MAO, YOU BASTARD!" Asuna roared, livid with rage.

"Mao, you _bastard_ ," Haruna repeated, but her tone was much more sly and respectful. Giggling madly, she began to take out a pen and paper and began jotting down notes furiously.

"Konoka's mind has things like that?" Asagi asked the actual relevant question.

"In retrospect, it should have been obvious," Asakura noted. "I mean, we all thought Sakurazaki had troubles in her transparent closet. Konoka's was probably wide open."

Mood calming down but not completely gone, Asuna hissed, "It doesn't solve the question of Setsuna's fate, though. What happened to her?"

Ala Alba exchanged looks, but nobody had an answer—especially since Negi didn't either.

* * *

"People's minds are very weird places," Satsuki observed. "I'm not going to knock your methods, but couldn't you at least talk to her?"

"Talk? That's lunacy!" Mao crowed. "Besides, we already tried! Let's go find a more talkative heart resident to go do our questionnaire on." But speak of the devil once more—from the distance, he could make out several shapes. A squint later, he raised an eyebrow. "Might want to start looking elsewhere."

Negi was about to question why when he saw what Mao was talking about—various Konokas of many dispositions swarmed the censor, some talking excitedly about the magazine, another asked in concern about the censor herself and sought to heal her. And yet more looked merely confused. "All these Konoka-sans..." Negi clutched his head.

"Excuse me!" Satsuki called out to the crowd. "Can you tell me where we might find out more of what's going on?" However, the continued chatter and lack of initial reaction told her she was ignored...

...mostly. "Let's go show this to True Heart! She'll get a kick out of it!" one cried.

"Yeah, she'll know what's going on!"

Satsuki just stared. This was really topsy-turvy. And why exactly were they discussing Setsuna as if she were still around? More mysteries to ponder...

"Best idea I've heard all day," Mao interrupted the cook's thoughts. "The True Heart will likely know more about things here. To be honest, if Setsuna really was history, I'd expect them to burst out crying."

"I'm not even going to... let's just go please," Negi sighed. "And please, do not harass the Konoka heart resident-sans before we can ask them questions." With little choice but to abandon the Heart Resident Konokas for now, they marched onwards.

* * *

Flying onwards, searching through the halls, Konoka still could not find Lunzard. Getting into his lab was not only tough, but when she had finally managed to worm her way in, he was nowhere to be found. And oddly enough, her thoughts seemed to drift to Setsuna. Her protector, her best friend. She idly wondered what she might look like in a pin-up magazine, but promptly found herself trying to suppress a sudden nosebleed. Annoyed by this, Konoka flew back out of the hallways and made her way upstairs, only to almost crash into someone. "Waah!" She skidded to a stop, mere inches away from plowing...

...Flonne. The fallen angel nervously smiled. "What's the big rush, Konoka?" She asked.

"Flonne-han!" Konoka said, relief washing over her. "Your show was over?"

"It unfortunately ended, but that end sequence? It was awesome~!" Flonne pumped her fists, her eyes burning brightly with the power of awesome. But she quickly fixed herself. "Okay, but why do you look so worried?"

"I'm looking for Lunzard," Konoka frowned. "He's got to know something about the Erinyes, or at least give me a better idea on where to look for information on them. I didn't find too much in the library."

"That's too bad. Though thinking back on it, maybe you could try the upper library. I saw Lunzard head that way, but when I tried talking to him, he ignored me." Flonne pouted.

Konoka saw something... drip in front of Flonne, but another blink from her, and that distortion was gone. She pursed her lips and nodded. "That's fine. I'll pursue him. He won't ignore _me_!" With a mighty flap of her white wings, Konoka burst down the hallway and further upstairs.

It was a moment, making sure Konoka was out of earshot, before "Flonne" let her glamor fail. The elegant Ars Goetia maid Mei stood in her place. "Mistress, and those other two, should be ready about now. I hope that they're not reckless with their plan." She idly headed down towards the opposite end, heading towards the ruined courtroom.

* * *

The door creaked, then slowly opened. Mao, Negi, and Satsuki stepped inside.

Now the memory driven landscape was at night. They were now standing atop a grassy hill, which overlooked a pier of a giant lake. Lying in the center of that lake was a gigantic rock, with numerous talismans on the front. Forest surrounded everything—from that Negi knew they were back in Kyoto, the night Konoka had been kidnapped.

"Oh, this looks pretty ominous~!" Mao hummed. "Almost like a boss fight waiting to happen. Is this when...?"

"It is," Negi affirmed. "Konoka-san was kidnapped this night, and right now her powers are being forged to summon a high level demon." He gave a small smile. "Though I imagine now that it would be far less a problem for me now than it was during this time. Though why this particular memory is so strong..."

"I heard all about this memory from Ku Fei and Chao," Satsuki added. "It seems that it may have been pretty strong. Are you sure she was okay from this incident?"

Negi looked backward, back towards the other end of the forest where he had left Asuna and Setsuna to fight off the demons. "I believe so, she never seemed scared talking about it afterwards," Negi answered loosely, at first seeing nothing. However, his own memory of seeing them fight, as well as his brief scuffle with Kotarou, echoed back in his mind, and they appeared. "I don't think Konoka-san saw any of this—this memory's reacting to me being here."

"Huh," Mao murmured. Most of the people he went venturing with in his own heart never shared any memories with him—with the exception of Beryl, and she was never around during the memories he had with her. "Definitely worth investigating later." He saw the younger Negi leave his fight with Kotarou and dash away on his staff towards the pier. "C'mon, we're going after your chump form!" He bolted after him.

"Mao-san! Wait!" Negi called out, worried about the security, but his cry fell of deaf ears. He sighed before deciding to follow suit, with Satsuki struggling to keep up.

Down the hill they ran, up until they sat upon the bridge itself. The summoning spell was just about completed, judging by the strong aura radiating from the center of the bridge. The light was so intense, that Negi could barely make out Konoka's form, even if he could hear her gagged whimpering in perfect clarity.

Current Negi and Mao skidded to a stop, observing a then small Fate Averrunicus gazing at the summoner. Negi sighed. "Please be careful. Even in memories, the security might show up."

"Whatever, they're jokes so far!" Mao callously dismissed Negi's warning. But he immediately shifted into a more neutral tone. "But I don't see any signs of tampering yet."

Negi looked onward at the captive, worry over his features, but detecting something was off a moment later.

"Are we done yet?" Memory Fate asked, silencing the observers for a moment.

A turn of the head from Konoka's kidnapper. Current Negi frowned at Chigusa Amagasaki's face. "Just a bit longer!"

Mao started back—something about this woman was actually familiar. But the recognition faded just as fast as it had appeared, and Negi was none the wiser (nor Satsuki, who had finally caught up, trying to catch her breath).

"I see," Fate answered, gazing right through them. As the current team wasn't part of the memory, they didn't interfere with it. "He's coming."

"What?!" Chigusa gasped.

"Continue the ritual, I'll handle this," Fate turned, and so did the others, seeing the Memory Negi sail over the lake and charge towards them.

Negi watched with just a hint of pride on his smaller self aiming his punch, and seeing how he had not only trashed Fate's familiar, but had pulled a surprise attack on him outright. Thick mist obscured most of their vision, though Negi knew what was going on, as he pointed out where Fate and the others were at the time. Satsuki looked awestruck—she knew of Negi's prowess, but seeing the beginnings of it up close had been something different entirely. Mao looked annoyed, but Negi then said, "At the time, I wasn't strong enough to take Fate head on. I had to have a strategy to get Konoka-san out of there. But then..."

Memory Negi pushed forward to claim Konoka, but alas the captive was not there. From beyond the white light, something large and dangerous emerged.

Even now, despite all of his power, Negi still gaped in horrified awe at the giant beast. The white demon had four arms, spikes on his shoulders, and huge muscles. His upper two arms were flexed in the sky. Though it wasn't apparent from where they stood, a second face was on the back of its head.

Mao gaped. "He's huge! Almost as big as my dad was!"

"I told you he was huge..." Negi blinked at that. "Wait. Your _dad_?"

"That's a story for later!" Mao snapped as he pointed to memory Negi. In a desperation ploy, the child twisted his body and gathered magical power. Memory Negi chanted a massive unlock spell.

"I don't regret a thing—everything turned out all right," Current Negi simply stood right next to his memory form, drawing the same power. "But I wonder how it would have turned out if I were stronger?" He calmly aimed an index finger, in line with his memory form's hands.

Together with his memory form he shouted "Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens!" A whirlwind of wind and lighting shot from his hands, tearing towards the giant god in a desperate attempt to smash him.

And then, much to his surprise, the great demon god Sukuna flinched.

"That... wasn't supposed to happen," Negi said, blinking as if he had just pressed a self destruct button by accident.

There was laughter echoing from the sky, and the three looked up to see Chigusa laughing. "Hohoho is that all you've got, son of the Thousand Master?" And floating in front of her, of course, was Konoka. Only this time, magical binds had ensnared her, instead of the forgotten sheet. Said binds trapped her hands at her sides, her ankles together—far more elaborate than what Negi remembered. But it got worse—Negi paled as Chigusa then spoke something completely unexpected. "Surely you can do _more_! _Begone_ from Konoka-ojou-sama's memories. And take Satsuki-chan and that sniveling nerd with you."

Konoka glowed in those binds, a shrill, muffled cry coming soon after (Mao was suspicious in the fact that it didn't sound like pain.) And then Sukuna roared. Memory Negi and memory Fate disappeared, as Sukuna aimed one of its mighty fists and smashed Negi in the face. The helpless hero sailed out past Mao and Satsuki, the latter who gasped as Negi crashed on the edge of the pier.

"Negi!" Nodoka cried, fingers curling to show her worry.

"Holy crap, I don't remember that happening on the trip!" Asuna exclaimed. "What the hell is going on in Konoka's mind?"

"Lest we forget," Yue raised a hand to calm the panicking girls. "the mind is not always represented in a stable fashion. Negi-sensei, while trusted, is not exactly a welcome sight in Konoka's mind. Perhaps this new step in security is trying to tell us something."

"Really?" Asagi peered over Nodoka's shoulder. She thought for a moment. "I think it's trying to tell us that Konoka's going full lesbian now."

"Oh really," came the majority of voices back on her.

"I mean, why else is Negi's male harem-lead powers not working on all those Konokas?"

Everyone else stared at her.

"While I don't think it's wrong," Chisame said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. She then looked hard at Asagi and asked, "I'd like to ask _how the hell did you draw that conclusion from_ _ **Sukuna**_?!"

Asagi just giggled nervously and shrugged.

"Remind me to never let you be a psychiatrist."

* * *

Konoka wasn't entirely sure what to think anymore.

She was at the library, just like Flonne directed. But there was no Lunzard, and furthermore, there was essentially nobody around. Just her and her thoughts, which seemed to drift from perverted thoughts about Setsuna to imaging how epic a match between Sukuna and Negi's current form (as she knew it) would be.

And being a bound up victim for Chigusa to control that creature was not as nearly frightening to her memories as it should have been.

She suppressed a shiver and looked around for any sign of the mad scientist, or anyone who might be at the library. So far, nothing. She took the time to sigh and rest against a bookcase. Lately, her mind had been in turmoil—how had she gotten such a bad hand right out of the gate? And why was it that she found herself at the mercy of an unknown enemy when she had only been at this for a few weeks now? Not to mention the loss of Setsuna, and suddenly her very strong memories.

She hadn't felt this overwhelmed and helpless since... well, Kyoto.

But going to a rest was a good thing. It allowed her to feel... powers. And well, Gehenna apparently had a hell of a lot, considering her own deafening power. Having never really felt powers before, she couldn't tell who was who right away—but she could tell general power, and distance.

Especially the two powers right on the other side of her.

Konoka shrieked in panic, feeling hostility. She kicked away from the bookshelf and bounced off another to land several feet diagonally left from where she was. Funny how that worked—it allowed her to dodge a black scythe that would have taken her neck had she not moved.

When the dust cleared from their strike, Konoka found herself staring at a black-haired woman, face showing only a bare hint of surprise. "You..." She murmured. "It must be you then."

"Me?" Konoka blinked, looking at the woman.

"The one who has to die."

Konoka suddenly noticed she wasn't holding her scythe anymore. So it was fortunate she saw the scythe swing back in towards her, and she flipped away to narrowly avoid her death yet again. She skidded to a stop and turned to see the Erinyes woman appear and grab her scythe.

From her perspective, she was tall and orderly—dressed in what looked like the top half of a tuxedo, with a skirt and heels noting her slender legs. Black hair, much like her wings, fell to the small of her back, though its ends were tied with a simple bow. Two sets of wings protruded from her back, though the bottom set was noticeably smaller, giving her a butterfly-like appearance. Lifting a hand, she drew her black scythe back into her hand. "For someone who slew a thousand demons, you look pretty harmless and cowardly."

"I don't want to fight," Konoka insisted. "That back then was me driven to insanity!"

"And who says that won't happen again some day?" The woman persisted in an even tone. "It's true that anyone is capable of madness, but when someone as dangerous as you loses it, the entire Netherworld can feel it. Especially considering Gehenna itself. Someone as Zegnant's successor cannot be trusted."

"Come on, Iza! We really can't be talking about sanity, considering what we're trying to do," called a voice. Both of them looked over and up to see another figure perched on top of a bookcase. This particular Erinyes, unlike the other, had a much more slender figure to her partner's hourglass shape, and her skin was chocolate to the pale countenance of her partner. Furthermore, her dress was a simple, black affair that barely reached her knees, which was met with form fitting thigh high socks and heels. She had long, black hair done in a pony tail to the side, though much longer than the style Konoka knew Setsuna for. Like the one who attacked Konoka, she had four wings—two large ones and two small ones. She gazed at Konoka with a pleasant grin, though her pale eyes looked horribly predatory. "Still though, if she's this weak, she's gonna die."

"N-Nami...!" Iza gasped, recognizing the other with a faint blush.

"Hey hon! Let's not fool around anymore, okay? Leader may look all composed, but she can only wait for so long," the one known as Nami hefted a staff—a long, black one shaped like thin metal cross. She aimed it in Konoka's direction with a calm smile. "So how about it? Got any conscience? If you don't, I'll be glad to introduce one through _pitch black despair_." A black globe formed at the tip of her staff. " **Shoot**."

Konoka screamed again as she bounced backwards to evade a burst of dark energy, crashing and exploding in a sickly burst where she stood not a second ago. In just a blink of an eye, the one known as Iza was already on her, heaving her scythe to slash at her. When Konoka once again jumped out of the way, Iza swinging her scythe back into a ready position seemed to draw the overlord back. This cleave actually nicked Konoka's skin, drawing a faint line of blood.

Frightened, Konoka attempted to attack with claws, more to push back the offenders rather than any actual attempt to take them down. The nimble Iza simply hoped back, then dashed forward to give Konoka a sharp sucker punch to the gut. The overlord landed on her back.

" **Zetsuboshita** ," Came Nami's voice, as said Erinyes landed on the ground. Konoka could feel a gate of magic unlock—no doubt that little phrase was the other Erinyes' unlocking key. " **Come to me now, o spirits. Drive my foe to despair!** " Her voice boomed, and she took aim at Konoka. " **Nigh** —"

"Eat it, dood!" Unexpectedly, a whirl of crescent slashes whirled towards Nami. The first one hit home, causing her to stumble back and bring up her staff defensively, where all the rest crashed into.

Konoka gasped to see... "Prinnies?" One quickly waddled to her side, the other, who had attacked Nami, stood guard.

 _Those_ two prinnies, to be exact. "Lady Konoka, are you alright, dood?"

"These people are all over the castle, dood! It's really bad, dood!" The second one said.

Konoka tensed. "Oh no, then that means—"

"You must be awful to your subjects if Prinnies are your last line of defense," Nami snarled. She stepped up again.

"Nami, calm down." Iza said gently, twirling her scythe. "Or rather, channel that anger into your next attack." She dropped into a fighting stance. "We'll be freeing this place soon."

"What are you talking about? I'm not a tyrant!" Konoka pleaded, still trying to make her case.

"I dunno if you got the memo, dood, but Zegnant and his little followers are history, dood!" One of the prinnies said.

Iza lifted her scythe. Her voice still soft and even, she answered, "Hardly reassuring when her methods are a single-handed mass murder of too many innocents. It'd be just like him to pick a successor that way. We've been dealing with his brand of madness for far too long. I'm sure it's been mentioned that if you're going on a killing spree, you should be able to _pick_ your targets."

Konoka faltered... but not long enough for Iza's strike to connect. The overlord blocked it by whipping her tail, allowing her to parry. "I won't do anything like that again," Konoka murmured. "Aware of myself or not!" Her tail struck back, and hard. Iza clenched her teeth as Konoka kept whirling her body and her tail to keep Iza on the defensive.

"I got this, dood!" One of the prinnies said, once again leaping in the air and letting crescent waves fly towards Iza. The dual assault, even if it wasn't very strong, could overwhelm any singular foe. Iza strained to keep straight, before Konoka finally let her tail smash into Iza's scythe strong enough to make her land on her butt.

"Keep it together, honey!" Nami called out. She swept her staff to deflect the other prinny that was attacking her. "You outspeed them by miles!"

"That's right," Iza gave a soft smile, despite the strain. She let two words escape her lips. "Sonic Move."

In that instant, she was gone. A beat passed, and Konoka felt Iza phase back into existence right behind her, followed by a now electrified poke to her back. She screeched in pain but stood her ground, whirling her tail to retaliate, but she only hit air. Iza flickered into existence again to smash her, but Konoka dodged by mere millimeters. Once again though, her counterattack failed, as Iza had disappeared once more.

Nami finally got lucky, shoving her staff forward and smacking the assaulting prinny skyward (With a "Doooood!"). "I'll pull some support until my big spell is ready. Distract them!" She twirled her staff, letting dark magic flow through. " **Bounded field.** "

Iza reappeared, nodding an affirmative. "Got it." She reared back to throw her scythe.

"Oh no you don't!" Konoka shouted, but she wasn't fast enough to rush Iza, and found herself tumbling to avoid the thrown blade. She attempted to rise up and strike Iza, but she disappeared again.

It should be mentioned that there is a scythe now coming towards her again, reflected by the field.

Konoka squealed and leapt over the whirling blade, but the field kept bouncing it in her direction.

The prinny was even less enthused about the whirling, bouncing scythe. "This _isn't good_ , dood!" And it smacked him over the side of his face, sending him sprawling. "Wahahaaaaa dooooooood!"

"No!" Konoka gasped in horror. Her horror quickly switched to anger, as Iza reappeared, just as the bounded field spell failed. The scythe reappeared, twirling into her hands. Konoka stamped down, just as Iza lunged once more.

With no other idea coming to her, Konoka simply pulled off a single uppercut, and smashed Iza into the air, her fist colliding with Iza's stomach in holy furor. It seemed to be an almost Negi-like reaction, had she stopped and thought about it.

Iza sailed helplessly into the air. Wings out, Konoka drew power into herself, to finish off this annoying fallen angel that dare attack her castle and her friends.

"You screwed up... by forgetting entirely about me," Nami crowed, swiveling into Konoka's view with a dangerously sweet smile on her face. She aimed her staff at Konoka, and dark magic began to rapidly gather at its tip.

Konoka paled in fright, unable to make a counterattack, get help from someone, or even move away, but she had been paralyzed from her earlier rage abandoning her. It felt like staring at death itself.

" _ **Nightmare Gale,**_ " boomed Nami's voice. At once, a rushing black beam of death smashed into Konoka, and she screamed into the heavens...

And a moment later, she fell to the floor. And just a moment later, Nami adjusted herself and caught Iza bridal style. "Hehe, you okay, Iza?"

Fighting off a heavy blush, Iza nodded. "I've had better days, but I won't complain if I'm in your arms." They remained like this for a moment, before Nami reluctantly set her down, and gazed at the fallen Konoka.

Leaning down, she checked for a pulse. "Huh, still alive. Guess that works out. Leader probably wanted to kill her anyway."

"What?!" Iza froze, shock crossing her face. "Why didn't you say that first?!"

"Nyahahahaha, I thought we'd have to go all out just to get a wound on her face."

"Nami~!" Iza complained.

"Well anyway, let's take her to leader. Her life—and our troubles—will be over then," Nami concluded, whirling her staff once more. " **Devil Bind**." Konoka's own shadow spawned several tendrils, forming around her torso and binding her wrist and arms, and even wrapped itself around her lips. The dual fallen angels picked her up and began to march away.

"N-no, dood!" Called out one of the prinnies, twitching from his defeat on the floor.

"This isn't looking good, dood!" The other, still horribly weak, added. "We can't stop them, dood!" But alas, alas, they were powerless to stop the fallen angels from dragging Konoka away.

"Everybody else is too busy... fighting or dying to stop them, dood! We don't... have a choice, dood!" The first prinny, barely on a flipper, tried to stand up again. Beaten as he was, though, the prinny couldn't change a lick.

"I commend you for your effort," A voice called out. "...but if I wanted you to throw your lives away at every boss fight, I would have given you to _Etna_."

It was a familiar voice they'd heard throughout the castle, but they hadn't talked much since the events a year and a half ago, much less three years ago. "F-former master, dood?" The prinnies chorused their venture.

Overlord Priere, arms crossed, leered at them. "Tell me where they went."

* * *

Negi snarled. Evangeline made this look _way_ too easy.

In lightning form, Negi dodged several more punches from the vicious demon god in Konoka's memories. While he did have strong attacks, they required far too much setup, and weren't as useful against the demon god as Eva's ice spells were. Not to mention this particular edition was modified from Konoka's memories, and may have not had the same weaknesses as the real one.

Satsuki wasn't built for battle, but her pactio did in fact, allow her to cook on the fly. Negi never knew how much eating lasagna in the middle of the fight could increase his physical prowess and clear his mind. Didn't food in the stomach upset workouts?

And Mao, despite his power, had largely been forced to keep the nastier attacks from hitting either Negi or Satsuki, and his irritation was showing. "Since when was this boss supposed to be this broken?!"

"I don't know! I bet it has something to do with the tampering!" Negi grunted, flipping backwards as Sukuna's eye lasers swept the pier to devastating effect, much like Fate's eyes did three years ago.

"It'll go nowhere..." Mao groaned, sprinting forward and whipping his sword in an arc to catch a fist that was aimed for Satsuki's body. "And he's just gonna revive as soon as we give him a beatdown! I had _enough of this_!" He tensed his body and grit his teeth, fangs showing as if he were a vampire, before he smashed Sukuna's fist away.

That gave him enough time for a quiet respite. "Negi... I've got something to show you," Mao said, voice serious despite the small grin on his face.

"What?" Negi asked, now noticing that the illusory Setsuna, Asuna, and Negi were nearby, having fled Fate's attack. For some reason, it was this part that flared back to him, even if it wasn't necessarily in Konoka's memory.

"Stand back, because it's going to be seriously ugly," Mao said, pushing up his glasses. "Likely in a good way."

"Uhh?" Satsuki tried to make sense of this, still brewing something for the other two to eat.

Just as the illusory Setsuna began to murmur her wish to rescue her ojou-sama, Mao also began to narrate. "Behold my true form, and _despair_!"

Back then Setsuna Sakurazaki grew two beautiful white wings, and launched away to rescue Konoka.

Now, Mao had risen into the sky slightly, glowing with an unholy power. "VASA AERGUN!" Mao threw his arms open, and his body began to mutate—growing larger, attracting vast amount of darkness, and claws becoming red and more pronounced. A hulking body landed, and red wings flared to life behind the monster, undoubtedly equal to Sukuna in size.

Vasa Aergun gave a mighty roar, and everybody but the illusory Setsuna and Konoka immediately dropped their jaws. Sukuna included.

* * *

 

This also included Asuna and the others, minds blown from Negi's completely horrified mental reaction.

"I am never fighting him again," Asuna muttered. "If he pulls this crap on our next practice spar, it's instant banishment." She then whirled on Asagi. "And you're telling me you've SEEN this before?"

"You people are funny," Asagi complained drolly. "Only the giant monsters scare you. Ridiculous energy attacks? Guns that can wipe out entire houses? Vampires that can do the same thing at one tenth his size? Guess those things are chump change compared to giant monsters."

"There's a certain level of respect when people pull powers that ridiculous!" Haruna jumped to Ala Alba's defense, surprisingly before Asuna could. "They either have charge time, ridiculous set up or they're the final bosses. Mao is none of those! Even Eva-chan had to pull off a high level chant before she could freeze up a demon god!"

"Guess you have a point," Asagi shrugged. "But he can't hold it forever."

* * *

 

The thing formerly known as Mao raised one of his arms to the sky, and terrible lightning slammed into Sukuna, causing its body to jerk in an electrified dance. Meanwhile, unperturbed by the unnatural curb-stomping going on around her, the illusory Setsuna snatched away Konoka from Chigusa's clutches. The bonds faded away just as Setsuna freed Konoka's mouth as she flew her to safety. Satsuki briefly noticed the dark bonds form together before dropping into obscurity.

Vasa Aergun continued his utter domination of the opposite demon god, aiming electrified claws into its face and chest. Negi stared, open mouthed, while the black creature drew in a terrible surge of lightning, and then hit Sukuna with the resulting searing beam. What was frightening to the young teacher wasn't the power, which he could match if he really tried, but rather the sheer speed and brutality of it. The demon god of Konoka's memories was toast, and Evangeline hadn't even shown up yet.

Although the surprise on illusory Fate's face meant that yes, Konoka's (or was it Negi's?) imagery of Eva did show up. She blasted Fate away as she emerged from the darkness, only to look, shocked, at the complete lack of monster above her. "WHAT IS THIS I DON'T EVEN—" She snarled and looked at Negi. "Hmph, figures you'd do something like this now."

Negi was about to object. "But I—"

"Fine." She huffed and snapped her fingers. In the distance, stain glass stairs formed, leading off the pier and into the sky where Sukuna once stood. In his place was a door, much like the ones in Konoka's memories, but slightly bigger. "Go meet Konoe, boy. She's missed you. Satsuki and Mr. Nerd Demon can follow, since you trust them."

Negi stared softly, before nodding. He had a Konoka to rescue, and figuring out her mind worked was but one piece of the puzzle he needed. He looked up to see Mao's powerful transformation fail, and the darkness evaporate, leaving the white-haired demon to land gracefully on the ground with a "Mwahahaha~!" The demon dean turned to Negi. "How was that?"

"Remind me to never fight you unless absolutely necessary," Negi murmured, making a mental note about a few things.

Satsuki just stared, slack-jawed, at the casual way they discussed this. Demons—always surprising her. But then again, when not accidentally seducing women the world over, this was the kind of company Negi usually kept now. As did Konoka, lately. The young-demoness-that-could actually reminded her of Negi now that she was thinking of it—and that was including the woman seducing! Wait... there was no way Konoka was seducing her, she didn't swing that way!

Satsuki simply shook her head and chalked that up to more things she'll get used to, just as she heard a familiar cry of "STOP RIGHT THERE!" By the sound of things, the censor Konokas had arrived, and they were already reprimanding the memories for being so easily influenced by Negi and Mao's wiles. Even Evangeline was not spared their wrath, as the glasses-wearing Heart Konoka's chided her for giving up so soon.

"Oh crap, we need to get moving!" Negi cried before running over to grab Satsuki. The cook barely had time to gasp before being snatched up. And considering he was shirtless, that meant she was blushing quite heavily. "C'mon, let's go!" And he ran towards the steps, with Mao right behind him. Going up the winding pathway seemed surprisingly easy, even considering the surreality of it all (and the lack of handrails.).

Now the trio stared at the final door, ignoring all the memory fixing din going on beneath their feet.

"Are we at the core of her heart yet?!" Mao grumped. "Judging by all the hoops we had to go through...!"

"I hope so," Negi answered, though confusion crept up on his face as he turned to Mao. "I thought you were the heart expert here?"

"Well excuuuuuse me prince!" Mao snapped back. "But I've only been in _my_ heart, I've never seen so many differences before!"

"Please save all the bickering," Satsuki gently said, trying to snap the boys back on task. "The door's opening," And indeed, with a start the door opened. Little rays of light gave way to much larger ones as the door creaked open, swinging widely and exploding into a burst of light.

* * *

Everything hurt. Her wrists, her body, her mind and soul. Why did it come down to this? She hissed in pain as she felt herself dragged along the floor by those two fallen angels, apparently to go face judgment. So this was how she'd have to atone for killing Setsuna...

She came to... what was this, the throne room? Well, judging by the space, and the fact that she could make out the carpet she was being dragged on was likely an affirmative. But worn down, she could hardly care. She was dropped unceremoniously to the ground, where she landed on her knees with a muffled grunt. Helpless as she was, she felt that moving, or trying to move, was as futile as it came. She groaned.

"Relax, it'll all be over soon," Iza said, her grip surprisingly comforting for someone who had just beat her up not too long ago. "I hear pleasure cruises to oblivion are nice this time of year."

"Right you are, Iza," The other elite, Nami said soothingly. "Hopefully they'll still be nice when it's our turn. Don't want bad things ruining our playtime."

However, their darkly sweet banter came to a stop when Konoka could make out footsteps, slowly approaching where they stood. Raising her head, she caught a glimpse of someone walking into view. Judging by the black shrouds behind her, she too was one of those Erinyes, though unlike most of her peers, her long hair was stark white compared to her peers' darker tones. Her dress while short, was frilly and conservative, even accounting for the lack of straps and visible cleavage. And unlike her peers, she had two sets of fully extended black wings, rather than just one (or the butterfly-like infantile second wings Iza and Nami held.). Konoka couldn't make out any other features, too hazy with sorrow and defeat.

Almost as if Setsuna was mocking her, she heard, "Well, I guess your time as overlord is looking tragically short, ojou-sama."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I'm working on updating this, chill out, it's not dead!


	13. Chapter 12: Setsuna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion of the Heart Bank arc, where Negi and Mao reach the heart of Konoka's problems, while Konoka herself is at the heart of an even bigger problem.

The trio found themselves staring at Konoka's home again.

Unlike before though, where there was a vague hint of a sepia tone, everything here was in picture perfect clarity—the only hint that this was in Konoka's mind was the door behind them, and, deep within the illusory Konoe estate, lay a massive heart-shaped safe. The sky shined just right, the ground below them, despite its hardness, actually tempted Negi to take off his shoes and walk in it. Not too far away, Negi saw a cheerful child form Konoka and an equally small Setsuna, giggling and playing with a ball. "Is this...?"

"Looks like it," Mao answered. "The core of Konoka's heart! Unusual to find it locked in the middle of memories, but this is definitely the core! I wonder why that crazy Kyoto memory was blocking access here, though?"

"I don't even know. I thought I knew Konoka-san, and while I've seen many memories I've at least known about, they seem to show me a lot more than I thought. Not to mention the personalities..." Negi pondered. "Were your personalities this different?"

"Oh I assure you my personalities were far less sane," Mao sneered.

"Why are you saying that like a good thing?"

Satsuki had been quiet, and watched as the memory Konoka and Setsuna played. Only they stopped as soon as they noticed Mao and Negi—Negi in particular. While Setsuna seemed tentative and shrunk back, Konoka easily walked up to Negi, even as his banter against Mao sharpened a bit.

"I hope to all sanity that if you take me into your mind, that you keep any panty-stealing things as far away as possible," Negi declared. "The last thing they need is—"

"Negi-kun!" chirped the tiny Konoka.

"Uwaaaah!" Negi stumbled backwards, completely surprised that this Konoka had decided to address him. He looked to see her smiling pleasantly, much like she tended to do three years ago. "K-Konoka-san!"

"I suppose even children like mocking your fake prudishness?" Mao added a verbal jab at the small Konoka's interruption. Knowing he'd been had, Negi pointed an angry finger at Mao's grin, but that was when Konoka spoke again.

"Hiiii Negi-kun!" she said brightly. "Good to see you again!"

"Konoka-san...!" Negi's smile was a wide, sad one, wrought with emotion. "Is that really you? We've missed you...!" It was all he could do to keep from hugging her on the spot.

* * *

The members of Ala Alba within that world actually felt their hearts stop when Negi saw the small Konoka.

"Did he actually find her? He found Konoka?!" Asuna gasped, eyes incredulous.

"It looks to be that way!" Nodoka added. "Negi-sensei, Mao-san, good work...!"

"It's too good to be true," Chisame shook her head in disbelief. "Hate to rain on everybody's parade, but there's no way he found her that fast. It's likely a heart resident of some sort. Just as weird as the other things in Konoka's mind."

"But it could still be a key one—one that knows what's going on with Konoka herself," Nodoka said. "Hang on..."

* * *

"I'm a heart resident, so I'm not that cool," the tiny Konoka said, her smile fading slightly. "But I can say that she misses you, too. And everyone else!" There was a pause. "Oh, by the way, why are you not wearing a shirt?"

Negi laughed weakly at that. "One of those heart residents chopped it up."

Satsuki kept an eye on the timid Setsuna who seemed a bit more relaxed, but cast worried, almost guilty looks in Negi's direction. She then turned to the small Konoka. "So if you're not Konoe-san, then who are you?"

Mao, voice lacking his usual crazy, answered. "An unusual form, but that's Konoka's True Heart. She's the guardian of that massive heart safe you see in the back." He looked at the suddenly shy Setsuna, and his mad scientist grin returned. "Oooh! So she can summon memories, too? Mwahahaha! I think I need to have a few words with my own True Heart!"

* * *

"As I said, you were only half-right. It's Konoka's best identity," Nodoka said after a moment.

Chisame just grumped and crossed her arms.

"Relax, Chisame-chan. It's good you keep us rational!"

She conceded that much. "Can't hurt to try."

"I don't think I could do that by myself," Yue added, getting her a few looks from Haruna and Asuna.

* * *

Setsuna's fright didn't go away, but she stared right back at him. Konoka however, simply clarified, "Yep!" Despite her pleasant smile, though, Mao's dangerous looming towards Setsuna got an additional, "You don't want to make Secchan angry."

* * *

"That's right, you little mouth-breather!" Asuna cheered. "Secchan SMASH!"

Everyone else simply stared at her for that.

"H-hey, someone had to say it!" Asuna objected. She couldn't help but feel happy when she rooted for Setsuna, and damned if anyone disagreed—or would have.

* * *

Negi prickled at Mao being so dangerous, but he changed the subject to diffuse this matter. "Say, Konoka-san, what does that safe hold?"

Konoka answered, not letting Mao wax nerd. "Precious things to me. Sorry, Negi-kun, but I can't even let  _you_  see them."

"I see..." Negi said sadly, not sure why he felt so cheated.

"So what's with the child-like form? The conditions around here? Aaaaaand your little childhood memory?" Mao poked. "Unusual feats for a True Heart, let alone a Heart Resident. And all the crazy organization! Are you trying to hold yourself together?" Once again driven by a lust for SCIENCE, Mao stalked closer to the tiny Konoka. "Don't think you're alone. I've recovered from horrible memories too! And your friends are  _dying_  to know what happened to you three years ago..." Said true heart Konoka backed away nervously.

"Mao-san!" Negi snapped, truly annoyed at his lack of tact.

And he wasn't the only one. Satsuki shook her head, about to add her own reprimanding of Mao's actions when she noted a shadow sneaking up and forming behind Mao. Tensing, she cried, "Watch out!"

But the shadow wasn't what Mao needed to avoid. One should know better than to mess with Konoka in the presence of Setsuna, memory or no. The demon dean noticed Setsuna bravely stalk up to him, faced etched in determination, aiming a bokken directly at his chest. "Leave her alone!" Came Setsuna's childish voice.

"Ooh! Are you a new defense mechanism? Does that little wooden stick extend into a sword of +9000 doom?" As you can see, Mao was too eager to recognize the danger of his actions, even knowing that this little Setsuna was more dangerous than she appeared.

And she certainly was. Her expression changed into grim determination and anger, far too real for a small memory of a child. She deftly reared back her bokken and sent it forward in a violent jab...

...going past Mao and stabbing the shadowy person that appeared behind him.

Negi and Satsuki stared in shock, stunned at the change in events.

Mao, stunned but recognizing the fact that Setsuna intentionally missed to strike something else, turned around to find himself face to face with Cygnus.

Cygnus had a grimace, hissing from being stabbed by what was now a spiritual sword. But it became a dark grin when he gripped it. "How long are you going to stay in that adorable little form, Setsuna Sakurazaki?" He pulled back from the stab, gripping the sword before suddenly leaping over Mao and slamming his hand down to strike the little Setsuna.

Except that little Setsuna was gone now. In her place, hovering a few feet away in ghostly but very familiar form, was Setsuna Sakurazaki, exactly as she was three years ago. Powerful white wings extended behind her, white as the hair on her head. Red eyes regarded the sneering dark-skinned demon. "As long as it takes for ojou-sama to recover."

The small True Heart Konoka fainted straight away.

"Sakurazaki-san..." Satsuki gaped, amazed at her form. So this was the true form of the supposed half-demon. But wait, what was she even doing here? Was this...?

Negi gaped in complete surprise. "Setsuna-san? Wait, you're the real Setsuna-san?" And why was Cygnus attacking her, or vice versa? He had to act now, before—

As the tiny Konoka hit the ground, something slammed into Negi mentally, and he felt a surge of... regret. Sorrow.

_I'm sorry, Negi-kun._

_Why did I kill Secchan?_

_Why did I ever kill her?_

_Why did I listen?_

The whir of what felt like Konoka's thoughts assaulted him so fiercely that he screamed and crumpled to the ground, gasping for air, and unable to act as Setsuna gasped and Cygnus stared them down.

"Negi-sensei!" Setsuna gasped.

* * *

"Negi! Setsuna!" Asuna cried out, as Nodoka's book went blank, the link shut down by Konoka's fall.

Nodoka looked entirely distraught, uncertain on what to do, or how. Her link with Negi had been severed by that last moment. She had been reading about Setsuna's real appearance, only for the book to suddenly go blank. "He can't be...!"

"I don't believe he's dead, no, but something attacked his mind." Yue said. "I'm not sure how it severed our connection. We've got to get back there."

"We know where he is!" Asuna shouted. "If he's in danger, we've got to save him! Asagi!" He whirled to the gunner. "You know where that is, right?"

"N-not really, but I don't think it'll be hard to find!" Asagi answered.

"We're going. Right now." With Asuna's words, the other girls began to stand up in worried excitement.

"Wait a minute! Don't be so hasty!" Chisame complained, getting the panicking crew of girls to stop for a moment. "If we waste time getting there, it could be too late. We should do what we can from here."

"We can't do anything from here!" Asuna shot back. "That's why we have to get there now!"

"That's where you're wrong." Chisame challenged, a small grin on your face. "You guys can simply reconnect with Negi's brain, right? Try that again!"

Nodoka and Yue paused, but then nodded. With her book out, Nodoka and Yue began to recite the chant they used to connect to Negi again...

* * *

"No sensei to save you now," Cygnus gloated, and whirled around to catch her with a darkness-charged chop to the neck. That failed miserably thanks to Setsuna blocking the move with her sword and retaliating with another slice, causing Cygnus to jet backwards to evade it.

Mao, too confused over the events that had just transpired, simply leapt away, stuttering over himself. "What the—what the hell is going on?!" His confusion gave way to a grin, however, as there were now some very interesting puzzle pieces he wanted to experiment with. He continued with a wide grin, "Is this quality entertainment?!" He almost wished he had some popcorn to eat while he watched this.

Satsuki clenched her teeth, looking a bit more closely at Cygnus. "No wait... I remember you! Why are you in here?" She asked of the mailman she had met just a couple of days prior.

Cygnus grinned, rearing back an arm. "I'm here to help a troublesome spirit pass on," he flexed his fingers, and a black ball of electrified darkness formed there. He hurled it at Setsuna, who flew out of harm's way and flit back to strike again, just as the wavy path of the ball crashed into a wall and exploded. She slashed at him, though the dark-skinned demon sprung backwards on his hands to evade the move, chuckling sinisterly as he skated backwards to evade Setsuna's pursuit.

"You think I'd let ojou-sama despair?!" Setsuna yelled, letting her sword whirl in an attempt to catch Cygnus. However, her slices met thin air, as the supposed swan demon quietly evaded her strikes. She let her wings flap once as they suddenly changed direction, bringing her sword to swipe at him again.

Cygnus's grin grew a shade nastier as he let black smoke envelop his fist and let loose a haymaker to her chest. Setsuna cried out as she tumbled to the ground. "Of course not! But she won't grow any stronger with you babysitting here." However, Cygnus wasn't finished—he reared his hand back again. "Guuaaah!" and he slammed the ground, and a wave of darkness burst up, and might have severely damaged Setsuna, had she not quickly recovered and flew out of harm's way.

Satsuki was at a loss. The mailman she knew was attacking Konoka's significant other. Negi had been afflicted with some sort of nightmare, and Mao was too busy watching the whole thing while eating imaginary popcorn. She could barely keep up with their speed with just her eyesight—how could she stop this madness?

But then she remembered her pactio with Konoka.  _I'm not the fastest, but maybe if I bring this situation under control..._  Satsuki quietly summoned her artifact with an "Adeat."

"Give yourself up already!" Cygnus bellowed, manic grin at maximum as he curled both fingers. A wealth of shadow balls appeared around him, and they all swerved in Setsuna's direction. The flying guardian shot forward, weaving between the shadowy bursts and swung her sword wide. However, Cygnus once again evaded swiftly, twirling his body out of harm's way. "She won't grow from the likes of you."

"And you consider yourself better?!" Setsuna roared, trying to space herself away from everyone else. But alas, one forgotten shadow ball smacked her from her blind spot. She cried out, crashing into the ground.

"Nah," Cygnus stated with aplomb. "But you sure aren't." He flexed his fingers, and more orbs of darkness appeared around him. He pointed towards Setsuna. "Get lost."

There was a clanging of dish and pot, and at once, the orbs meant to plunge Setsuna to their apparent doom were pulled away. The rhythmic banging of frying pan and spatula suddenly drew them all into Satsuki's golden pot. Cygnus and Setsuna stared, surprised, at the cook as a result. "You...?!" Cygnus began.

"I don't know why you two are fighting, but it must stop here," Satsuki murmured. Her face then twisted to a form of anger. "You are  _not_  going to terrorize Konoka-san's mind!"

Setsuna sputtered something in horror. "I-I would never—!"

But Satsuki tilted her pot down, and the orbs burst from her pot, boiling water splashing everywhere, and all of them aiming towards Cygnus.

"Aw, hell—" Cygnus formed into a shadow, but that failed to negate his own projectiles smashing into his smoky form, making him cry out even as he weaved against the rest of them. A swan shaped shadow tore towards the cook. In seconds, he was back in physical form, hands in his pockets but awfully close to the cook. "Not bad miss. I'm sorry you had to see this, but this isn't your fight to have." He aimed a hand in her face, and an inky black smoke was drawn to his palm. "You can't play with demons yet." Satsuki could only widen her eyes at her impending doom.

That was before there was a "Hiken: Hyakka-ryouran!" And Setsuna's blade smashed into Cygnus with a petal-filled whirlwind.

Setsuna was there, poised to fight. "You may mean well, but ojou-sama is not  _yours_  to protect! And involving Satsuki-san is a new low!"

Cygnus snarled. "You're  _annoying_...!" He slammed the ground, a shockwave of shadows giving way from his hand into a pool of darkness. From it, a massive black swan emerged behind him, shrieking loudly. It swiveled its dark head towards Setsuna. "For the last time... get  _lost_."

Setsuna, determined, dropped into a tight fighting stance. "Satsuki-san... please step back."

The cook, however, did no such thing. "I don't think so. Both of you are going to explain what's going on."

Before Setsuna could offer much in the way of witty retort, the massive swan snapped at them, crossing the gap between Cygnus and the girls in the blink of an eye and narrowly failing to take Setsuna's ethereal head off. It snapped wildly as both girls scrambled back, but its wild snapping failed to connect. It shrieked again, lunging at Setsuna.

The ethereal halfling was faster, though, catching it with a first swipe to the beak, with a second one smacking it backwards. "Seiyaaa!" Setsuna lunged at Cygnus, who sneered and dodged quietly, before rushing back to retaliate with a vaguely scythe-shaped darkness.

Satsuki, by now, had enough of their shenanigans. She drew her spatula and frying pan up, and bellowed, "ENOUGH." The banging this time began to draw in both Setsuna AND Cygnus.

"W-wha...?!" Setsuna gasped.

"D-dammit...!" Cygnus grit his teeth.

"Wuh?" Mao's jaw dropped.

Without mercy, Cygnus and Setsuna were dragged into the pot, while Satsuki took the spatula and stirred her unwilling ingredients. "Have some sanity about you, and  _stop fighting_." She tilted the pot. It bubbled over, and the two combatants were launched straight into the opposite wall, narrowly missing a surprised Mao. Setsuna crumbled, defeated.

Cygnus, on the other hand, while defeated, also sank further into a pool of darkness. "Not what I expected, and yet..." By that time he was completely submerged. "Fine then. You explain what's going on. But my point still stands." The pool formed into a swan-shaped shadow and fled.

Mao, no longer impassive, shouted after the escaping Cygnus, "You better get back to Mahora, if you know what's good for you!" The shadow seemed to flinch as it disappeared.

About then, Negi groaned, free of the odd affliction that cursed him, and shakily stood on two feet. "Konoka-san... what did that mean? And why is Cygnus-san here?" He looked to see Cygnus gone and Mao and Satsuki puzzling over the fallen Setsuna and the fainted true heart. "Setsuna-san?!" He rushed over.

She began to recover. "Ughh... That was a bit too much, Satsuki-san..."

"I guess it was. Sorry for that," the cook smiled nervously, especially as Negi regarded her with surprise. However, she dropped back into her serious tone. "But how did you get here, and why were you fighting with the mailman?"

Setsuna looked down, face etched in sorrow. "I... For Kono-chan's sake, I..."

Negi gave a calm smile. "Setsuna-san... it really is you. I was worried you two had fallen apart, but at least here, you're not too far from Konoka-san, are you?"

She looked up at him and smiled, even through her melancholy. "Yes. It's here that I can protect ojou-sa—no, Kono-chan from within." Her smile dropped, however. "I had to, after three years ago."

That got everyone's attention immediately. "Setsuna-san." Negi said slowly. "What happened three years ago?"

She frowned, dreading the idea of pulling up such a dark memory, but for her friends' sake, she saw little choice. "Tsukuyomi had stabbed Kono-chan with the Hina blade, and with it, she fell off the Gravekeeper's palace. I chased after her, but an odd portal separated us, and somehow, I met turbulence. By the time I came to, a few hours had passed, and I feared Kono-chan was lost.

"I found myself clawing my way to Gehenna, the last place she had been seen," Setsuna was collected at first, but even Mao noticed how her eyes were wide. "But I couldn't compete with the high level demons in this world. Shinmeiryuu techniques are designed to banish demons from our world, but in theirs, they are but ordinary slashes. That's when the shadowy swan appeared. He too, looked troubled from what was going on in the castle where oj—Kono-chan had disappeared. He said he could assist me and get us both inside—and by that, I mean grant me power."

Negi looked where Cygnus disappeared, and balled his fist. He hoped that this story wasn't going where he thought it was...

"I moved in. With the power he granted me, defeating demons within Gehenna was a piece of cake. But what I didn't realize back then was my inhibitions were eroding. Cygnus... warned me about that power. He said that while I was stoic and disciplined, I had no clue how to let go. So when those powers dropped my inhibitions, they really did drop them.

"Soon enough, I started having too much fun. Everything that crossed me fell. And everything fell apart so easily. Now that I think about it, I wonder if this was the kind of madness Tsukuyomi suffered every day," Setsuna was shivering now, even in her ethereal form. "And then I came across one form. Just as insane as I was back then. Unlike everything else that fell, she kept going no matter how much I fought, or slashed her. Then a spell hit me, and I felt a familiar... warmth to it. And then..." Her eyes watered. "I realized who I was cutting! That was  _Kono-chan_!  _Kono-chan_ , who had been delirious over who knows how long! I was attacking who I loved the most, and I couldn't stop!" The half-demon that was fell to tears at that point.

"Setsuna-san..." Negi himself shivered, near tears himself. "Setsuna-san, I..."

"Sakurazaki-san... if you don't want to continue, don't force yourself," Satsuki murmured.

Mao's face became completely unreadable, and he said nothing.

"No please... let me continue..." Setsuna said, rubbing her eyes and wiping her tears away. She took a moment to collect herself before continuing. "My mind wasn't totally gone, but I realized that the swan had shut down part of myself to unlock my power—and it would remain that way for as long as my body was that way. The only cure was for Kono-chan to kill me."

"Wasn't there some other way?" Satsuki half asked, half pleaded. "There had to be..."

"It'd do me no good, now. My body's gone. But somehow, through either Kono-chan's love, or through my sheer force of will, or maybe even both, I found myself in here," Setsuna said. "Three years ago, this place was a mess, thanks to all of the torture she'd gone through. Her memory was not intact. Details, such as who Zegnant really was, still evade me. But I recovered most of her life and her past, and remained here since." Setsuna was quiet again. "Cygnus... of all people, helped me. When I first saw him here, he was insane with guilt. I figured the best way to get revenge was to make him help me repair Kono-chan's mind, which he was actually eager to do after I bested him. He knew how to slip past security in this place."

"What made him change his mind?" Satsuki asked.

"He thinks I've overstayed my welcome, that if I'm going to stay by her side, I have to do so in the outside as a proper Prinny. But Satsuki-san," Setsuna's attention shifted to the cook. "You've seen how that is! There's no way I could guarantee I could even be near ojou-sama, let alone protect her! Prinny bureaucracy is horrible!"

"Indeed it is," Mao spoke up, adjusting his glasses. "But he's not entirely wrong. The ultimate test is what she does on her own."

"I know, but I..." Setsuna frowned, almost threatening to cry. "I don't want to leave her... and she's facing worse things than ever. What do I do? I'm nearing the end, and I'm afraid that one wrong move will ruin Kono-chan forever!" And there was an uncomfortable pause as Setsuna tried not to cry.

"Setsuna-san, this might be redundant advice, but..." Negi stepped over the others, leaned in front of Setsuna and gently gripped her face. "Have more faith in Konoka-san." He looked over to see the True Heart Konoka recover from her fainting spell, slowly crawling to her feet. "She has faith in you, after all. And so do all of us back at home. Believe in her, too."

Setsuna paused, and took all of that in. "Negi-sensei. Kono-chan..."

"She's losing faith in herself..." True Heart murmured under her breath, eyes listless. "She can't..."

"She's what?!" Satsuki panicked, that sensation in her stomach all too familiar.

"Konoka-san, please don't give up," Negi shouted quickly, looking at the despairing heart resident. "We're still here for you!"

"That's right!" Satsuki added, memories of what Beryl told her flooding her mind as she clenched her fists. "We're still here for you, no matter what!"

"I'm not joining this stupid hero encouragement program!" Mao huffed, annoyed that everyone was being so cheesy. He then flipped into annoyed rage, shaking his fist. "Dammit, if you die and depress your old friends, I'm dragging your dead husk back to my lab and turn you into my perfect cyborg  _FOR SCIENCE_!"

Setsuna, seeing the others shout at her charge, grit her teeth and suddenly jumped away, making everyone gasp as she flew towards her fallen charge. All three of them had a point, and now, if Konoka died, everything was over. But to take over for her again would only crush her spirits. She swallowed hard, not sure if this gambit she was about to pull would actually work. "Kono-chan! We know it's a bit much, but everyone's depending on you! I have faith in you... so  _please_...!" She pressed her into a hug. "Protect them! Protect  _me..._!"

* * *

"Wahahaha!" Came that Setsuna-sound-alike voice. "To hear Zegnant's days are over and the entry barrier has been reduced to the likes of you fills me with glee. That damned monster finally got his, so it's only a matter of time before the rest of the decadence can be cleaned out, too." Konoka looked up to see that the woman had perched herself  _on top_  of the throne seat, rather than on it, and she was idly swinging her legs. But her weak gaze got punished, from a staff smacking her in the head.

"Show her some respect before you die, and she might show you some mercy," came Nami's voice. Konoka's only response was a weak groan.

"Don't bother. People like her cannot comprehend mercy," It felt like all of Setsuna's words were coming back to her, haunting her more, making her feel even more worthless than she did now. "But I suppose she's but a puppet of Zegnant. Once I slay her, all the resulting turmoil will make it easy for us to get rid of the rest of them." This was met with cheers from the other two.

Konoka only sank. She was going to die here. That massive murdering spree, Setsuna's blood on her hands, she supposed this was going to be her karmic retribution. She might as well accept it.

But, as the fallen angel leader stepped forward to slice Konoka's neck, taking the scythe from Iza, Konoka heard little voices in her head. A cry of "Konoka-san, please don't give up! We're still here for you!" echoed in her mind. Was that... Negi-kun? He'd been in her thoughts lately...

_I'm so sorry, Negi-kun..._  came her idle thoughts again.

And then she heard Satsuki. She hadn't been paying much attention to her lately, but it seemed a voice in her head reminded her that the cook still had her thoughts on her. And she swore back then that even if she didn't care for herself, she wasn't about to let Satsuki die. Had the fallen angels stopped gloating, they would have noticed her tail moving again.

But what really moved her was Setsuna's voice—but this one, unlike the one coming from the judgmental angel in front of her, seemed genuine. A plea, for her to protect her friends. To protect her.

Protection was a two way street after all.

By the time she resolved to fight, she found herself staring at the business end of that scythe, poised to sever her forever. It was now or never.

Konoka's tail flared to life, swinging leftward and smashing into Iza's leg, then dragging her across into a bitchslap right on the leader's face. Nami's attempt to skewer her in revenge failed, as Konoka skipped forward just enough for her to slice the binds away. With her limbs free, she whipped a foot over to knock the dark-skinned angel away. From that, she came face to face with the leader, and finally bit down on that gag, crushing it between her teeth. "You will not seal my fate. Not while my friends still count on me!"

It took a moment, but said leader met Konoka evenly, gazing back at her with fire-colored eyes, matching the hazy halo she saw lit above her head. "I see. I didn't even think that you'd try to defend yourself at this point." She giggled lightly. "That's my fault. So let me introduce myself," She took a bow, before a confident grin returned to her face. "I am Imamiah. The fallen angel of voyages," Konoka blinked in surprise as the one who called herself Imamiah simply plucked her halo from its hanging point, pulled on it until it became two, and brought both to her sides, where they flared to life before they grew into large black and white chakrams, crackling with energy. "Allow me to send you to your own voyage—to the afterlife."

Konoka tensed her muscles, ready to fight.

Unfortunately, she didn't quite expect Imamiah to throw one of her weapons like a spiked frisbee, nearly shredding her skin in the process. In the next moment, Imamiah was  _there_ , catching her own chakram and whirling around to catch Konoka. Konoka gasped and managed to evade the hit at the last second, but that didn't save her from the whirling slash right in her torso. She screamed as the wound forced her down.

Imamiah didn't even waste a second, twisting her body to slice Konoka's head away. Luckily, that failed as Konoka swept the woman's ankles, and her slice faltered, shedding bits of hair instead. Konoka lashed out at the woman with her tail, but she simply jumped backward out of harm's way. Konoka hissed as she stood up again, murmuring her Regen spell under her breath to slowly undo the wound. She'd be making a lot of mistakes—she couldn't afford to have all the little ones add up.

With a playful giggle, Imamiah slung her wheel forward again. This time, Konoka ducked and rolled forward, so she was also out of range when the fallen angel reappeared. Opting now to counterattack, Konoka attempted to murmur the beginner's unlocking spell, and found... she couldn't remember it.

Straining to think of something, a different unlock spell came to her, and flowed through her lips. " **Nik nak kin kan akonok**."

That actually got Imamiah to pause.

Pleased with the effect, Konoka drew in power, much more easily now. That of course, was followed by "Saggita Magica... Series Lucis!" And there were 31 arrows flying at Imamiah...

...who just twirled away, giggling all the while. "You  _must_  learn not to telegraph your attacks so much~" And moments later, she was back in Konoka's face, giving her a roundhouse kick. Konoka crashed into the ground, but was forced to quickly rebound to avoid yet another chakram trying to pierce her. Konoka slid back, opting for more power this time as she charged magic into her tail, thinking of the properties of Negi's Magia Erebea, and smashing it in her attacker's direction.

It might have worked—had her tail not slammed into Nami's staff. The dark-skinned angel had recovered and moved back to protect her lead, much to both combatants' surprise. Teeth grit, Nami hissed, "I don't think so. To even think about fighting Lady Imamiah, you'll have to go through  _me_." She heaved her staff to smash away the overlord, who gasped and retreated to avoid the swing.

She was going to start drawing a spell, something she did with more confidence as Iza recovered and Konoka struggled with yet another sudden attack from Imamiah, but there was a mighty interruption in the form of " _EXCUSE YOU_?!"

A mighty sword crashed into Nami's staff, nearly blowing her away. The fallen angel straightened herself out to look at her opponent, who arched into a fighting stance. "I, Turmeric of the Phoenix Clan, will  _NOT ALLOW the slaying of our OVERLORD_!"

"Males? Long time, no see." Nami slyly greeted, before swinging her staff into a ready position.

Turmeric, however, turned to Konoka, producing a scythe. "That  _mad scientist_  said you may try  _this_  as a weapon!" He tossed it over to Konoka, who caught gently, though she stepped back a bit from its dangerous spinning.

"You...!" Nami growled, lunging at Turmeric and firing a burst of dark magic. Turmeric squeaked and jumped away, before parrying a lunge from the fallen angel.

"Nami, Nami! Please calm down. I've got this," Imamiah attempted to placate her vicious minion. From that, she leapt up into the air and fixed herself in place, slowly hanging upside down with arms extended. Glyphs appeared on either side of her, glowing with energy. " **Deus Caligine tectus.** " She aimed her finger through the middle of one of her chakrams. Murmuring in Latin, she continued, " **I am the angel who stares at dusk**."

Seconds later, Konoka's eyes widened as a twilit laser shot at her. She only shifted enough to evade a critical hit, the laser still piercing her side. She hissed and reflexively grabbed the side as she fled the continuously sweeping laser after her, growing paler at the sensation of her own blood on her hand.

She squeaked as Imamiah simply reappeared, aiming her finger into a deadly laser again, forcing her to flee under the woman to evade the strike. She twirled around, the wound finally not bothering her anymore, and swung her scythe to smash into her from behind. That failed, as Imamiah simply parried the blow by whirling behind her with her chakrams.

Konoka tried another clumsy attempt, whirling her scythe, but Imamiah was faster and more ruthless with her strikes, she couldn't keep up. However, her Setsuna-like laughter was grating on the young overlord's nerves. Channeling her magic power through the scythe, Konoka swung again. This time, a wave of light shot out, catching Imamiah by surprise and knocking her out of the sky...

...temporarily, anyway. She landed on her feet, with a flap of her four wings.

"This thing channels my magic pretty well, at least," Konoka said, testing its grip for serious. She blinked and squeaked as Imamiah was back in her face. She pushed magic into the scythe, whirling it to block a furious assault the chakrams. She grit her teeth when Imamiah suddenly vanished, only to reappear anew, bringing the assault again. Normally, even like this, magic flowed through her almost effortlessly now, and healing herself was merely a backburner thought on automatic. But every time she tried to strike the fallen angel in front of her, it felt exhausting... and almost shameful.

Imamiah was still pretty much keeping her entirely on the defensive—scoring a nick with her chakrams here, a burst of magic there, and she still kept that cool look on her face. This wasn't working...

Almost out of desperation, Konoka cried out, "Why are you attacking this place?!"

Imamiah actually stopped her assault, blinked, and then began to laugh. It was enough to make the overlord unsettled, and Turmeric to falter long enough to get a foot to his face, courtesy of one Iza. "You don't even know? How miserable! You truly are but a pathetic, unwilling puppet of Zegnant!"

That rubbed even Konoka the wrong way. "Sh-shut up!" Konoka stuttered in response. But it segued into a roar when she added, teeth bared, "I am NOT a puppet!" Her power flared in the form of holy lightning dropping down her sides—one even struck Turmeric, which instead of harming him, actually revitalized his body, causing him to yell out and continue his fight with Iza and Nami as if he had just shown up. Konoka twisted her scythe above her head before bringing it down, with an absolutely huge after image smashing towards Imamiah.

But when the smoke cleared, Imamiah was gone.

"Ah, that little attack you pulled off..." Imamiah was right in her face again. "Very reminiscent of an old friend of mine. I believe his name was Aurum." Imamiah whirled into Konoka's side with a vicious kick, sending the overlord sprawling to the side. "But more to the point. That uncontrolled, maddening power of yours will be the death of everything, ojou-sama."

"S-stop...!" Konoka wailed, trying to get back on her feet. Why did she keep hearing Setsuna in the voice of this woman trying to kill her? "Stop sounding like that! I'm n-not going to..."

"Sound like what?" Imamiah frowned.

"Sound like..." Konoka was about to say "Setsuna", but what would be the point? Would she even understand the madness that woman could do with just her voice? "Like me ending the world is a foregone conclusion!"

"The fact that you seem entirely unwilling, let alone unaware, actually makes this sad," Gone was the earlier condescending tone, dropped into an almost quiet remorse. It reminded her of Setsuna far too much. "I think I should free you of your sad state." And those horrible chakrams were by her side again, her arms were outstretched, preparing to bring them together to slice Konoka's head like a horrible guillotine.

Except that didn't work, because the next second, there was a fist smashing into her face.

"Yeah, excuse you? That's  _my_  prey," Konoka stopped all action and slowly turned around to the owner of that fist—which narrowly missed her, by the way. She never imagined she'd be so happy to see Overlord Priere. The fallen nun sneered at Imamiah. "You know, if you just reconsidered your actions a bit more, you'd have less issue with people trying to kill you and wipe out your race. Just a thought."

"This coming from a bloodthirsty Overlord..." Imamiah's grin came back, along with a vein burst.

"Yeah, but there's a difference between me and you. I may not look like it, but I actually  _pick my fights wisely_ ," Priere aimed a second punch towards the other woman. Imamiah, always the artful dodger, evaded Priere's blows by a hair. "You should probably give this up."

"And abandon my people? No thanks," Imamiah suddenly twirled in the air, slinging one chakram into Priere's face, and when it failed to connect thanks to that baton, she appeared right by it, whirling into a dangerous combo that actually put the other overlord on the defensive.

Stunned at the turnaround, Konoka merely sat still, watching all the others fight. But how was she going to stop all this? Imamiah was too powerful for her to engage as she was—or her powers were weird, one of the two. But left unchecked, everyone else was going to fall by her hands. What could she do? As it stood now, there was only one shot. Imamiah WAS currently distracted by Priere, maybe if she charged enough power quietly...

Footsteps broke that concentration, and Konoka felt immediately aware of some other person walking behind her. Before she could even turn around, though, she felt Imamiah and Priere clash right in front—the power between the two was so great, stray holy lightning smashed around them from all sides—even striking the person behind her.

In a panic, Konoka whirled to find—the failed assassin, curling over another fallen angel who had taken the spell directly to her stomach. "Tayuya!" She cried, far more emotional than she had been when she first arrived here. Looking at the wound, she paled as her friend was essentially spilling blood. She looked about in panic, looking for some sort of help. "Dammit...!" She turned to Konoka. "You... miss! Please help!"

Konoka hesitated. This was essentially making things worse for herself.

"I know from the looks of things, we're enemies. But please, Tayuya, she...!"

It seemed almost unfair how an innocent bystander took heat from another attack, especially if it the failed assassin was asking for her help. Snarling over this, Konoka murmured, "Reflexio!" setting up a barrier between her and the warring duo, and rushed over to the wounded person. "Stand back. My magic may work well, but she needs room during this process!"

The noise actually caught Imamiah's attention.

Imamiah paused her assault on Priere, simply phasing out of her attack as if it didn't matter, much to the other's shock, and appearing above Konoka as she finished her healing on this supposed Tayuya. Konoka gazed back up on her, concerned about her mildly shocked expression, tail arched as if ready to fight, but doing nothing otherwise.

And the fallen angel laughed again, much more mirthfully than she had been. "You... I think I've changed my mind about you." She didn't instantly phase about this time, but approached Konoka normally, and kissed her on the cheek. "I like you... I think I'll make you mine, ojou-sama."

Her minions' jaws dropped.

Konoka herself, touching the kissed area with her hand, merely let out an "Eh?" in disbelief. Only to shake her head in disbelief. "N-no! Stop calling me ojou-sama! Especially in that voice! You're not Secchan!"

Imamiah looked puzzled for a moment, but then smiled. It didn't look menacing in any way, and yet Konoka was deathly frightened of it. She felt like she just said way too much.

She turned to Priere, who didn't look very pleased with this. "You know, I think you have a point~!" The fallen angel said cheerily.

"Oy, I saw her first!" growled the fallen nun.

"So says so many people. But perhaps she who yields the best patients and tactics will win everything," Imamiah said, making her chakrams disappear and form back into that hazy red-orange halo. "I may not have won, but I did get what I came for. Ladies, we're retreating for the day." She snapped her fingers, and Konoka felt some odd aura wash over her. Iza and Nami took to their leader's side, casting an intrigued glare at their boss's new object of affection. "Do take good care of Houki and Mei for me. Karma can be a bitch otherwise."

Tayuya did not like where this was going. "W-what? Houki has to stay here?"

Imamiah blinked for a moment before realizing her issue. "Ah, so sorry! You can stay here with her if you so wish." That was met with a sigh of relief from the younger fallen angel.

"Mei?" Konoka blinked.

"There is more than one way to get our interests in, yes?" Imamiah answered vaguely. "Mei will be taking care of ours. You can most certainly bet karma will be on her side." Teleportation runes appeared below their feet. "Just think about it~" She said lastly before she and her two guards disappeared in a flash of light.

Konoka looked back at her prisoner of war and her new partner, as well as a very confused Turmeric. She was about to approach them when Priere's voice suddenly made her flinch to a stop. "I'd be verrrry careful if I were you over these ladies."

"Why?" Konoka wasn't about to mistreat them, but it would be good to know if someone else needed the convincing.

"Leader brat said it best—Karma is a bitch, and quite frankly, it's  _theirs_." Priere grinned, however. "But that's not gonna scare me. You still owe me a good fight, and I'm going to be watching your back until you give me one." Priere launched her wings, and flew away.

Konoka watched her go, and looked at everything. There was a whole army of Erinyes after her life (or if that kiss meant anything, that may have changed to "panties"), a government she had to run, a crime she had to atone for, and a power to understand before it went on the path of destruction. It was nearly too much—but she remembered the voices of her friends. Negi. Satsuki.

Setsuna.

And apparently, some dude ranting about science. Did Hakase pick up a new boyfriend?

No matter. The Erinyes were gone, but they likely left a mess of destruction and wounded. No matter what she is, or what she had to do, there was still one thing Konoka Konoe did well, and that was heal. White wings flapping from her back, Konoka flew deeper into the castle, letting her power flow to more easily and quickly find the injured.

Turmeric folded his arms, aware he didn't need any help. This overlord was weeeeird.

* * *

The True Heart Konoka stopped. While she still looked forlorn, her eyes seemed to gain color again, and a small smile took her lips. "You should have said that in the first place."

Everyone looked on in anticipation.

"It's okay, she's safe," The true heart smiled. Mao harrumphed, but everyone else breathed a sigh of relief.

* * *

Finally, after a desperate twenty minutes of trying, Nodoka and Yue finally managed to get the link working. From there, they saw that Negi was in fact, all right, and was on his way home. The first, most prominent thought?  _We can save Konoka-san and Setsuna-san_.

Nodoka smiled. "We have contact again. Negi-sensei has faith we can save those two."

"We can save the yuri duo?!" Haruna's eyes lit up, along with a smile. "Hell yes!"

This was met with wild cheers from the group. Even though they were crowded in a tiny room, given that they had suffered so much after Konoka's disappearance and Setsuna's likely death, they knew they could at least see them again.

"I'd hate to take Chisame's schtick, but don't think it'll be easy," Asuna said. "We don't know what kind of BS might get in our way. We've got to stay vigilant." Chisame looked downright stunned at Asuna's admission. Normally once you told Ala Alba some good news, they were all over it. But at least now she wouldn't have to keep their hasty thoughts in check... again. "But  _screw those odds_! No matter what, we'll get those two back!"

Chisame shook her head. Spoke too soon.

But then again, they were Ala Alba. Impossible was nothing to them.

* * *

"Negi-sensei, Satsuki-san," Setsuna bowed, floating in ethereal form next to True Heart Konoka. "I'm sorry this trip couldn't have been more useful for you."

"Au contraire," Negi answered pleasantly. "Everyone will be happy to know that both of you are rescuable in some form. Mark my words, we'll be back. With reinforcements."

Mao had been deep in thought. Annoyed that this situation had not been fully explained, he thought he could at least figure out what Cygnus had been up to. He had been involved with Konoka's untimely demonization three years ago, though, but why did he feel guilty of it? And why did he think that Setsuna needed to reincarnate proper? "Personally, I'm starting to see that swan boy was right. You need to get out more!" Mao crossed his arms. "Give your soul to me! Then I can stuff you into a badass cyborg machine and make you  _awesome_."

Setsuna... could not verbally respond to that at all.

The true heart could, though. "That sounds like fun!"

"Oj—Kono-chan!"

"But she's better by my side, so no thanks!"

"Dear Mao: Please stop. Signed, your sanity," Negi narrated between clenched teeth.

"P.S: That was a lie. Please don't stop," Mao whispered right back. Negi pressed his lips together to keep his anger in check. Mao took down more mental notes, then gleefully grinned at Negi's annoyed countenance.

"Don't worry, Sakurazaki-san," Satsuki said politely. And she, too, was filled with many of the same questions Mao had been mentally asking himself. "I'm sure we'll find a way to solve all this, so we can go home."

"Thank you for that." Setsuna nodded, and, as the three visitors made their exit, True Heart Konoka poked her a few times, and reluctantly, she shrank back down to her child form. They resumed playing with their ball like nothing happened.

* * *

Beryl huffed, her breath heavy. It was all she could do to keep standing.

Marie finally went down, after all of her skill and furious punching. Beryl actually had to use an unlock key—unheard of for most demons, and used only incredibly rarely for the more practiced magicians. If she had used her stronger spells from the outset, she might have been able to overwhelm Marie early on, but that was been twenty-twenty hindsight talking. "Geez..." she moaned.

"You've done well." That voice stopped her cold. A further look up showed Lirael, fully conscious and holding the fallen Marie. "But you should know that the only reason you aren't suffering our wrath is that the leader wants us to head home for now. But with no Zegnant to slaughter us, and Andras likely unable to resist us, the people here will fall next time we attack."

She gave a smile, even as Beryl clenched her teeth and tried to assume a fighting stance. "We'll meet again." A flap of black wings was all Beryl saw before Lirael and Marie disappeared.

It... was over. Finally over. Beryl sank to her knees. Being a delinquent... was much harder than she thought. And her friends... they got hurt, too, because she wasn't prepared enough to protect them. And yet... And she found her body gave away, sinking fully to the floor. She could hear a flap of wings before everything went black—and she never even remembered hitting the floor.

* * *

"So did you find what you were looking for?" came the haunting collection of voices that belonged to the singular but deadly King of Dust.

Satsuki turned around, just in time to find the undead sand master swirl back into existence behind her. That impassive bulbous glow that was his eyesight still appeared to bore right through her. "I found something—but it only gave me more questions," Satsuki frowned. She felt wary sharing information with him, but she had a feeling he'd find out some way or another. Might as well make it an easily defined moment. "I know what's causing her personality shifts, but little more beyond that. She doesn't even have memories of Zegnant."

"Perhaps she doesn't," The king said coolly. "But there's one person that's bound to know more about Zegnant than our dearest overlord."

"That would be Lunzard Torque, wouldn't it?" Satsuki murmured.

"Zegnant's number two," The undead king clarified. "But he's evasive these days. Perhaps though, with good reason." He gazed outward, looking back towards Castle Gehenna. "I hear those insufferable Erinyes have returned."

"Erinyes?"

"Monstrous fallen angels. We've been trying to kill them for years, and they only get more annoying as a result," He sighed, leaving back towards the castle, followed by Satsuki. He paused, however, and turned to the cook for a moment, nasty grin on his face. "And what a fine time to vote on our overlord's fate."

Satsuki's eyes widened.

"We'll see just how worthy she is in succeeding Zegnant."

* * *

Mao and Negi reappeared in the dimensional gate. "So how much time has passed here?" Negi asked. However, when no answer came after a beat, he looked over at the demon overlord beside him. "Mao-san?"

Mao's face was completely wide-eyed and blank. "I think you're screwed."

"Me? Why?" Negi staggered back. Then he took an actual look at his surroundings.

"Neeegiiiii..." There were now several angry women surrounding the two of them. While that anger was expressed in several different degrees, often mixed in with worry, amusement, or in one case, exasperation, they were all looking at the two heroes now leading them. Asuna, the forefront of this, stepped over. "You. Are. Busted."

"Asuna-san, everyone, I can explain..." Negi said, hands up and trying to placate the crowd.

"You have no hope," Mao said, face still blank with horror. "You are a harem male lead."

"Besides, there's no need to explain," Yue said, stepping forward as well. "We saw everything. Negi-sensei. Mao-sensei. You need us now more than ever."

"After your punishment, of course," Asuna snarled, pounding her fist into an open palm.

* * *

It took a moment, but Beryl was conscious again. And in considerably less pain. "Ooh..." she moaned, trying to rise.

"No! Please rest for a little longer!" Was that... Konoka's voice? Blinking a few times to get her eyes in working order, Beryl looked around to see that it was in fact Konoka running around. Looking about this particular room, she saw a large amount of beds, many holding a few residents of Gehenna, including two prinnies. A further look revealed Asuka and Kyoko, both who seemed fine, and most of their major injuries gone. Flonne seemed to be the only other person untouched by injuries, as she was also bringing drinks for the patients.

"Kyoko... Asuka..." Beryl breathed. "Konoka, are they all right? Are you all right?"

"I'm good thanks!" Konoka said haplessly as she flitted over to Anise to finish an incantation and heal up a wound on Anise. She looked fine now, but judging by the large amount of bandages she saw being swept away by Turmeric, it looked like she had recovered from some serious damage. And speaking of? She noted a pile of junk in the corner—or rather, various destroyed torture devices, smoldering with holy energy and fresh claw marks, and how recently put together this room looked. Konoka flew back to Beryl. "Are you okay? You were bleeding all over the place when I found you!"

"Those Erinyes were incredibly tough..." Beryl shook her head. "I just barely beat Marie by the skin of my teeth." But a realization hit her. "Where are they now? What did they do to this place?!"

"Stop worrying," Konoka said, a faint smile on her face. "They left. The leader was one of those people who bought that prophecy story, I proved her wrong."

Beryl smiled at that. "How exactly?"

"One of her followers was caught in the crossfire, so I healed her. Not to mention I didn't harm the other one that tried to assassinate me." Konoka smiled softly. "They're still prisoners, but since they took grace like Koyomi and Tamaki, they're fine in the lower quarters, and aren't a threat to anyone."

"Really? Huh," Beryl thought that Konoka was an awesome delinquent, but this earned a new level of respect. Even she would have fought on in such a situation, but Konoka had taken a much more peaceful route, saving them all in the process.

"I wonder if this is what I might have to deal with from now on," Konoka said quietly.

"Huh?"

"That annoying prophecy seems to be the root of my problems, but it isn't just libel," Konoka explained. "Those Erinyes were dead set on killing me until I healed one of their own, or at least talked to them. Koyomi and Tamaki thought I was dangerous until I helped them out. And there's no helping anyone else who hears of that prophecy before they meet me. But well... if there's anything I learned when watching TV shows, it's that worrying about a prophecy just makes it happen that much faster."

"Think you've got a point," Beryl sighed. "But how are you going to beat it?"

"I don't know yet," Konoka crossed her arms. "But what I do know is that I'm not a lunatic, I'm a healer. No level of torture from Zegnant is going to make me change that. Or make me want to end the world." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I'll figure it out. At least, I hope so, before Imamiah and her followers do." She shivered at the thoughts of that voice. That damnable, sexy voice.

"Imamiah?" Beryl blinked.

"She's their leader," Konoka answered. "She's all sorts of frightening. It was like she could see all my attacks coming, and made me almost feel guilty for trying to strike her. She even compared me to some super hero when I lost my cool." When Beryl's curiosity shot up, Konoka continued. "She said his name was Aurum."

Beryl paled instantly. "She knew Super Hero Aurum?"

Konoka wasn't sure if she liked where this was going. "You know who that is?"

Beryl's face was grim. "He was a super hero who let his fame get to his head. He'd been a hero for a long time, but came wandering into our Netherworld 200 years ago, where he killed Mao's father. He then saw Mao as a potential foe and engineered him to become a foe to fight. He put our school through turmoil and nearly killed one of our friends just to get his aims."

"A hero gone wrong..." Konoka concluded, a frown on her face.

"You could say that." There was a pause. "Did Imamiah say how she knew him?"

"She called him an old friend."

"That might explain the unholy powers Aurum wielded when we fought him last year," Beryl said thoughtfully. "He said he got those powers from slaying overlords, but it had to begin somewhere. A fallen angel giving her blessings to a fallen hero..."

"Like I need another reason to fear her..."

"Eh?" Beryl asked. As Konoka lowered her head in shame, she asked. "Konoka, what's going on?"

"I have a massive problem with her. She's going to be back. And somehow, it will be worse than trying to kill me."

"What are you getting at?" Beryl asked.

Konoka raised her head just enough to look at Beryl, cheeks red, but eyes alight with fear. "...she likes me."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can see a picture of Imamiah if you hit up Dark Dragon Dave at deviantart. Enjoy, everyone!


	14. Chapter 13: Imamiah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laharl meets the enigmatic woman who attacked Konoka last episode. What are her goals...?

Laharl crossed his arms, scowling for all of his worth. His collection of vassals, both steadfast and recent, had gathered around him once more.

"So you're telling me, that for the past week we've been sitting on our ass here, and all your silly little minions have accomplished is getting captured?" Laharl snarled at Fate.

Fate had hardly disclosed much emotion, neither did he feel much. Rakan fighting him had chipped away against some of his programming, as did Negi and Asuna's efforts to bring peace. But such things were saved for when there wasn't research or planning at stake, like there was now. Fate answered plainly, "It seems Dynamis may have simply underestimated the overlord. At least it's clear that the overlord is not entirely merciless."

"We're truly up against something different, aren't we?" The blond-haired Salvatore said, her accent thick. "To think even Dynamis was defeated..."

Nagi, amused by Laharl's attitude, leaned over. With a sinister, jester-like whisper, he called to Laharl, "You've met with a horrible Fate, haven't you? You shouldn't have done that. You shouldn't have done that." He kept repeating that last sentence like a mantra.

In fact, Laharl could feel a vein burst as he finally couldn't take Nagi's annoyance for much longer. He swung a fist in his direction, only barely missing. Nagi defended himself, easily, even as the both of them came to blows and began fighting all over the room, with Nagi laughing the whole time.

"That's going to be the death of you someday," Fate remarked casually, watching the two of them with hardly any reaction.

"So what now? You CE types obviously went about this the wrong way," Etna pointed out to Fate. "Judging by the fact that she thwarted a hostile takeover, I don't think us doing the same thing is going to work."

"True. But then again, that never was our goal in the first place. I did ask him to simply do reconnaissance, but it appears that he took his own initiative. Maybe a team that would do what I set him out to do would work best."

"There can also be more...  _indirect_  methods," Salvatore gave a small sneer. "As for now, though, I'm going back to Evil Academy. Let me know when you make your next serious move." She gave a small salute, and sauntered off back towards the Dimension Gate.

"I think I'm heading down there!" Laharl finally declared, lost somewhere in a mutual headlock with Nagi. "I can make sure Flonne isn't doing anything stupid. And whoever the overlord is wouldn't dare make any stupid moves if I showed up for business instead." Nagi actually let go at that, as Laharl fixed himself and paced towards Etna and Fate. "So who's doing this with me?"

"Prince, obviously I've got to see this (if only to see your face after I tell Flonne that you're missing her)," Etna piped up.

"I've been through Gehenna before," Arika added. "I could easily navigate in it if need be."

That got a few raised eyebrows. "You've been there before?" Laharl asked. He thought about it for a moment, and did remember that Etna sent her scouting a little before that school showed up. "Huh, so that's where she sent you."

"I was hoping she'd find me good snacks, since my pudding disappeared on me. All she really did was stumble on some little war not unlike the prinnies." Etna shrugged.

"Hmph." Laharl crossed his arms. "In any case, let's get back home. The dimension gate is probably faster."

"No need," Fate said. "Three years ago, one of Ala Alba fell when struck—by Tsukuyomi no less," Fate stated. When both Laharl and Nagi looked around for her, though, she was nowhere to be seen. Everyone involved was probably better off.

"I keep wondering just how insane she is," Laharl hissed. Etna raised an eyebrow. Was that... regret in his voice?

"In any case, she disappeared three years ago, down to a portal that hangs below this base. Your journey there may very well cross paths with her fate." He turned around, facing away from them. "If you do find out, tell me. I owe that much to the princess."

Laharl looked confused, but Nagi's facial expression changed. He knew exactly whom Fate was talking about. "Little Princess..." Nagi said. "She's been looking out for you guys now?"

"Yes." Was all Fate said on the matter. "Chances are our activities will stir concern with the government, so I'll be putting up a distraction." And he walked out.

Quiet, the chosen four traded looks before resolving to head downstairs and look for this portal.

* * *

Laharl was the last to appear through the portal. But lo and behold, after emerging on the other side, he found that the estimated freefall to Gehenna was... a lot shorter than he imagined. He actually landed on what seemed like a marble ridge. Considering that it didn't shake from his landing, he might have landed on something bigger. He looked over, seeing nothing but swirling clouds beyond as far as the eye can see. A slight look down, however, showed a hole in the clouds, and the tip of what might have been a massive castle.

"Huh," Laharl noted. "Looks like this was an unusual pit stop... Who's bright idea was it to jump down here in the first place?" He'd  _definitely_  bring that up next time Nagi made any suggestions. But whether to explore this place or keep going down actually had him at an impasse... that was, until Nagi called out.

"Oi, Laharl! Come and check this out!" He heard Nagi shout.

Further descent would have to wait. Laharl walked over to see what Nagi was talking about.

No wonder everything was strange—the young overlord found that the four of them had landed on a giant airship. It was comprised mostly of the same thick marble-like substance right along its edge, as if more designed for a house than an airship. The ship had the appearance of a giant ark, though its green-roofed quarterdeck area appeared taller than the keen of the ship. Heck, it looked big enough to be a small mansion on its own. Wings, extending evenly out of spaced windows at the bottom, rowed like oars through the sky.

"Whoa..." was all Laharl could say on the matter.

Nagi looked impressed. "I don't know if this is something that belongs to the overlord of Gehenna, but damn does she have a fine taste in airships."

"I'm tempted to say the designer played too many obscure video games, but whatever floats your boat," Laharl shrugged. He looked up, seeing three arch formations in a row nearby, and three people with black wings perched right in the middle.

Etna murmured, "So what are we gonna do about the welcome committee?"

Laharl crossed his arms. "Sneaking by isn't my style, and won't succeed even if it was. I want to see what these people know." He let his power flare. "Hey you!"

There was a moment of lapse before the shapes reacted. The one in the middle stood up, and the other two seemed to look up at it. A moment later, the shape jumped into the air, only to appear above the four a moment later, four wings extended and hovering in the air. Arms crossed, Imamiah spoke. "I don't remember being so lenient as to allow intruders in this place. You should state your purpose for being here." Only the barest of smiles crossed her face, and it didn't reach her eyes either.

Nagi felt a familiar sensation despite the woman's unholy aura. It felt vaguely similar to the same being he had fought years ago—but couldn't really place his finger on it.

Laharl wasn't scared in the least. "Are you the Overlord of Gehenna?"

Imamiah kept her cool. "I should be."

Laharl and Nagi raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?" Confusion flashed across Etna's face.

"Really." Laharl also kept his arms cross, his face betraying no emotion other than determination. "So what would you do if I beat you to the punch?"

"If, by some miracle, you defeat me," the fallen angel murmured, dropping down to face Laharl. "Which I very much doubt you will, I will do everything in my power to stop you, including use Gehenna's curse to full advantage..." Her line of thought seemed to have stopped just short of completion, however, when she drew closer to Laharl. Faint surprise crept onto her features. "...wait. Is that you, Lord Krichevskoy's son?"

That... was surprising news, judging by the incredulous stares from all four of the visitors. "Huh, how do you..." Laharl began, but looking up at her face, and her now softer eyes, memories came back to him.

_Pain, bleeding, and wounds on his small frame. A concerned gaze from a white-haired woman with eyes like fire freeing him from his chains, and carrying him away from that nasty place. His little mind didn't understand it back then, but there was something vaguely... satisfying about the face of a woman who had such an awful sneer before get smashed under by the very person finally taking him home._

"You're from that time before," Laharl murmured.

Imamiah crossed her arms over her chest. "With all due respect, Prince. You have grown so much since then."

"Damn right," A wry grin crossed his features. "So long as you keep those damn melons out of my face, we can get along. And it's  _overlord_ , now. Hell Prominence is  _mine_." That got a small smile from the fallen angel.

Nagi, just a little confused about this sudden turn of events, turned to Etna and Arika, the former who looked vaguely annoyed and relieved at the same time. "Uh, he knows this person?"

Etna answered, "Yeah, now that I think about it, this woman is the same woman who dragged him away from his aunt's house all those years ago."

"Aunt?" Nagi asked, even as Laharl and Imamiah began to chat.

"The Prince's aversion to big breasts came about because his aunt decided to abuse him. His mother had died saving his life just a little time prior to that," Etna had grown slightly quiet from that. "The king, his father, was overcome with grief and in no state to raise him, sent him to live with his aunt and uncle. Apparently, they weren't very fond of him having a human mother, believing him to be tainted—well, that's all the Prince told me. He came back 100 years later, cradled by that woman."

Nagi snarled. "Demon or no, no kid should have to go through that. Did his father not know his sister or sister-in-law was a complete psychopath?"

"Not until that lady showed up. I didn't either," Etna frowned. "But it's moot now, we've never heard from his aunt or uncle ever since." She took a sideways glance at Imamiah. "And I think I know why."

Nagi, hands tight on the small staff he now wielded, gazed at Imamiah, not certain on how he should feel about that.

As if aware of this, Imamiah paused her small talk with Laharl and gazed back on him. "A lot of unfulfilled karma hangs over you. Do you crave vengeance, Man of a Thousand Spells?"

He paused. It was why he had been on the run—even despite his heroics, the Megalomesembrian Senate had struck back against Arika for their own ends, attacked his son Negi, and even downplayed most of the credit from Negi's own attempt at delaying the end of the magical world. But it was demons who took Arika away from him, and demons now who threatened the balance of the magical and normal worlds. Yes, he'd love to pay them back—but that would defeat the point of being a hero for the downtrodden, now wouldn't it? Without means or real evidence, though, demons were the only thing he could lash out at. And even that was looking difficult, if Laharl was anything of an example.

Etna and Arika traded looks.

Nagi answered, "I wish I could." One look at Arika, though, and he looked back at Imamiah. "I don't have time for that anymore. Neither am I going to make any."

"I have ways of making that happen without destroying your character," Imamiah smoothly intoned. "It's what we, the Erinyes, do. We look into the abyss so you don't have to." She began walking back towards the mansion-like quarterdeck. "Don't be too hasty, though. Let's compare notes in a more comfortable environment. We can discuss our goals there." At that, the other two Erinyes they saw landed down, talked briefly with Imamiah, and burst away to open the door before them.

"I think she's trying to buy my soul," Nagi commented after a while. "I don't like this."

"A fallen angel promising evil powers? I'm  _impressed_ ," Laharl's grin was faint, but there. "Don't fall for it, though. You're MY vassal."

"Already protective, Prince?" Etna commented, but she was ignored.

"Wasn't dreaming of it," Nagi responded, earning him a sigh of relief from Arika. "Besides, something about her screams 'Lifemaker'."

Arika nodded. "I got that, too. Not as powerful, but it was there."

"Who's that?" Laharl asked.

"A very powerful and confused little man. Or woman. I forget which." Was what Nagi answered. When Laharl raised an eyebrow, Nagi continued. "Either way, I bet you'll find out more pretty soon." Laharl snorted, not satisfied with that answer but willing to deal with it for now. They began following the fallen angel into her ship.

* * *

"Gaaaahhhh!" Mao groaned, after flopping down on a table in precisely the wrong way. Apparently the self-described 'wonderful wounds' were still smarting.

"You shouldn't be fighting so much," Satomi remarked, working on a small machine next to him.

"What is with this place?! You go on  _one_  little trip, and suddenly they're all using cheap shots against you! It would be applause worthy, if it weren't for the fact that they absolutely REFUSE to give anything similar to that epic beatdown they gave me earlier!" Some exaggerated breathing, and then quiet. "This is the fourth time this week I've been banished!" This was of course, the week after his first week here.

"They DID see Vasa Aergun," Satomi informed him of the fact they dropped shortly after said beatdown. "I mean, demons that size aren't an everyday occurrence."

"Annoying. I need to find a way to make myself less vulnerable to banishment," Mao muttered. "It's not like I'm possessing someone in an occult movie!"

"Mao-san, you're hanging around magicians and fighters of all types, derived from a variety of learnsets, certainly you could expect demon banishment to be among them, even with the fact that you've emerged from your dimension directly." Satomi said, adjusting her glasses for a moment. "You've been all over them up until now, and now that they know the extent of your power, they're being even more cautious."

Mao just groaned angrily again.

A moment passed, and a swirl of black energy emerged from the summoning circle. Lo and behold, Cygnus had arrived, eyes darting about as if worried about someone's appearance, before sighing in relief.

Mao sneered. " _Going somewhere_ , swan boy?"

If he was hoping to surprise Cygnus, he failed. "Yes sir, I'm looking for you," He strode over to the mad scientist demon and Satomi. "Beryl's got a letter for you."

"You still owe me an explanation, swan boy," Mao said, catching the letter with one hand as Cygnus lightly tossed it at him. "That trip to the mind back there showed me you and the yuri-girlie are linked."

"Their fates are my screw up, and I intend to repair that," Cygnus answered darkly. "That's all I'll say for now. But you'll get an explanation in due time."

"Patience isn't one of my strong points," Mao sneered as he opened up the letter. "It's the strongest and merest curiosity about what you're trying to do that prevents me from telling 3-A that you led their little friend to her demonization." When Cygnus grit his teeth and open his mouth to protest, Mao kept going. "That, and you're actually pretty good at this."  _Not to mention_  entertaining _,_ Mao added silently as he finally looked at the letter he received.

_Dear Mao,_

_Geez, it's been getting crazy over here! Well, to keep things brief, this place went under attack a few days ago. Some group called the Erinyes showed up, and they attacked Konoka and tried to kill her! They were under the impression that Konoka was gonna end the world, but Konoka says she proved them wrong. I'm thinking, though, that it isn't the last that we've seen of those girls._

_So why should you care? Konoka says that Imamiah, their leader, knows Super Hero Aurum! That jerk might know more about them, like what their next move might be!_ ("Oh?" Mao nearly squeezed the letter in shock.)  _I'm suspicious about that, so I might try and sneak out for a bit so I can question him. Kyoko might be better at that sort of thing, though..._

_If we cross paths back at home, I'll meet you there. Otherwise, smell ya later!_

~Beryl

Mao's adverse reaction midway caught Satomi and Cygnus's attention. "What does it say?" Cygnus asked.

Mao looked at the dark-skinned demon incredulously. "You mean you don't peek at the letters?"

The younger demon reared back, as if struck. "What do you take me for? Invasion of privacy is horrible (Unless the other person actually wants you to)!"

"Keh, guess I'll let you keep scheming. You aren't evil enough to bother me," Mao shrugged, and Cygnus simply buried his face in a palm. "But anyway, the super hero has committed the egregious crime of not telling me more about this awesome foe! And I'm going to amend that!" With an excited cry, he stood up on his feet again. " _TO MY LAB_!"

* * *

"Welcome to the Sagen," Imamiah gestured into the halls of the flying ship.

Laharl and Nagi gave pause upon walking into the place—its marble-like floors polished, its hallways well lit, the scenery both beautiful and intimidating. The main foyer was lined with a red carpet that ran from the doorway to the stairwell, reaching the upper quarters. Nagi of course, found himself letting out another low, appreciative whistle. "Pretty refined!" He commented.

"Becoming of a fallen angel," Laharl muttered keeping his own praise under a neutral tone. "If you ask me, though, I was expecting more creepiness."

"Creepy hasn't exactly been chic for a good while now, Prince," Etna commented.

"We of the Erinyes have had this ship for more than a thousand years. It's been fortunate that I had it once Zegnant ousted us." Imamiah continued. They began to head up towards the upper floors. "Besides, Iza has enough fondness for creepiness to cover for the whole of us." She paused for a moment. "We can use this room, then." She opened the door, and inky black smoke wafted from it.

"Ahn, Nami~! Drown me in your despair~!" Laharl heard somehow over the increasing den of dark, horrifying magical power.

Imamiah immediately shut the door. "On second thought. Let's not use that room. 'Tis a silly place." She strode right on by without missing a beat, motioning them to follow. "We'll use the office, then. Come along."

"It's only a silly place?" Etna blinked, her face looking disturbed.

"Very silly, don't think about it," Laharl hissed.

They headed back downstairs, pretty much not wanting to hear what might be going on in any nearby room. Fortunately, Imamiah located an office pretty quickly, and opened the door.

It was occupied, but only one person was there, and apparently had been expecting them to a degree. "Ah, you're back." It was a feminine voice. So when the five of them filled in and grabbed chairs, Laharl was surprised to see an angel—a male angel at that. No... upon closer scrutiny, while the person was dressed like an angelic male, her face was notably feminine—as a matter of fact Laharl was heavily reminded of Flonne. There was some term for that sort of thing...

Nagi, however, was not as nearly observant at first. "Wow, you're the first dude I've seen on here!"

The boyish angel chuckled. "I'm glad to see it worked... on the simple-minded, at least."

Nagi could barely curb his irritation. "What was that?!"

"Somebody doesn't know what a reverse trap is," Etna taunted.

"A shame, Nagi. I thought you'd seen a variety of people in the magic world," even Arika had something to say about it.

Nagi groaned. "Not you, too!"

Imamiah raised a hand. "Enough. Well, I suppose you should get acquainted. This is my secretary, Ozonne. She wasn't very popular in Celestia, so she came with me." She gave a tiny smile while Ozonne bowed.

Intrigued, Laharl raised an eyebrow. He did not yet comment.

Nagi, however, did. "I wonder why," was his droll comment.

"The angels preach love, but love doesn't solve the world's problems," Ozonne said. "I valued money over love, and I was branded a heretic."

Laharl grinned, almost savagely. "You'd make a fine demon."

Ozonne smiled at that, but turned away. She looked at both Nagi and Laharl. "An unlikely pair, you're the Thousand Master and the ruler of the Netherworld, huh?"

"Damn right," Laharl sneered.

"So what do you think?" Nagi gave his award-winning grin.

"Not what I expected," Ozonne deadpanned, stunning Laharl and Nagi out of their grins. "A weak and incompetent brat, and an idiot for a hero—truly you won your battles by luck."

"What was that?!" Laharl clenched his teeth.

Nagi, however, took the insult in stride. "I was never a thinker."

"So what business do you have with Imamiah? Surely if you guys are that strong, you have no need for calling for revenge." Ozonne stated.

"We have no interest in revenge," Nagi and Laharl chorused, much to the girls' surprise.

"Revenge just begets a new cycle of hatred," Nagi hissed. "It took me way too long to realize that."

"I have no need for that crap, I have a kingdom to run," Laharl added. "Besides, other than keeping Baal from messing things up royally what would I need to get revenge on?"

"That's all well and good, but let's get to why we're here, shall we?" Imamiah said, grinning. Ozonne stepped aside so Imamiah could claim the main office chair. She sat primly, and folded her wings behind her back, making them small enough that they nearly disappeared. "Now Lord Laharl, I'm impressed by your spirit. You aim to conquer Gehenna as well? It seems fair, considering that Gehenna is a next door neighbor of yours."

Laharl grinned. "Of course! Nothing like more living space for my vassals and more bragging rights for me!"

Etna snickered. Typical Prince, albeit more resolved now than he'd been during his fame chasing time at Evil Academy.

Imamiah also giggled, but her giggling was much... darker. "But you realize, that's my homeland you're messing with, right?"

Etna, Arika, and Nagi paused, as if she had announced she was going to kill them all.

Laharl, however, kept his grin but sobered up immediately. "How far would you go to get your place back?"

"I'd do  _anything_ , Lord Krichevskoy's son," the air around her grew hazy, with swirls of black and white energy crackling around her. "I would hope that 'anything' would not include your downfall."

Nagi gripped his seat, and Arika tensed slightly, even if her expression barely changed. Etna and Ozonne looked worried—this could go downhill very fast depending on what was said.

"I don't take threats lightly," Laharl rose up, and the air tensed considerably. "That being said, I'm glad you're serious, and you pick your fights wisely. If you're so serious, though, what's stopped you from claiming Gehenna before?"

"There used to be just one major factor," Imamiah said, noticeably calmer now. "That is Ars Goetia. The lead dark assembly had placed a moratorium on my presence and my powers there. Three years ago however, I launched an assault once an inside member undid that law. Unfortunately, though I crippled their numbers, they're rebuilding again, and if that law goes back in place not a single one of us can walk there again."

"That's harsh," Nagi muttered. "They have power and corruption up the wazoo to that extent?"

"Lest we forget, unlike humans, demons are  _proud_  of corruption," Etna said.

"So they're like the Megalomesembrian senate, except uglier looking?"

"Yes," Arika agreed.

"Oh boy," Nagi rolled his eyes. "No wait, that would be too much of an insult to the demons."

"In any case," Imamiah interrupted, to bring them back on track, "I can't stop them, I lose my home. I have ways around them, but that was accounting when my only major problem with Ars Goetia was the King of Dust."

"King of Dust?" Etna raised her eyebrow.

"Don't let such a simple name fool you. He is as every bit as twisted as Zegnant himself," the black-winged fallen angel warned. "In any case, in the three years I haven't been there, Ars Goetia expanded," She crossed her arms. "The so-called Overlord Incarnate and her boyfriend work there now—they are highly dangerous."

"Ugh," Laharl stuck out his tongue in exasperation. The duo, Rozalin and Adell, had been instrumental in rescuing their own home world, but had smashed Laharl when he underestimated the former three years ago.

"Who?" Nagi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You'll meet them later." Laharl grumped.

"Furthermore," Imamiah continued, "Gehenna has acquired... new residents. The first of these is someone you might be familiar with. Her name is Priere."

"The overlord?" Etna raised an eyebrow. "Yeah we know her. Super powered, holy wielder, lives to beat the shit out of everyone." She grinned. "I bet she's been trying to rearrange that other overlord's face."

"That brings me to my second issue," Imamiah toned. "That little overlord. She's such a poor and piteous thing. Upon fighting her the other day, I could tell she was thrust upon that position against her will. She has a medic's instincts, even healing one of my own despite us being on opposite sides." Her face grew red. "Not to mention she looks so adorable..."

"Adorable?" Instant eyebrow raises came from Ozonne and Etna.

"Little?" Laharl added.

"She didn't ask for this sort of thing, I could tell." Imamiah said, looking less lovestruck but her face still having a touch of red. "Make no mistake, to claim Gehenna I will have to be especially nasty and wipe all traces of its old rule. I want to make sure anyone useful or innocent is out of harm's way before I do so—and that includes that little overlord."

"Really?" Nagi asked, almost challenging her. "You want us to help you with your nastiness, to get your house back?"

"Yes," Imamiah answered simply.

"Because removing the remains of a cobbled government never turned out bad ever," Ozonne supplied helpfully in that deadpan voice of hers. "She wants you to reduce and remove the inevitable fallout."

"Janitor duty?" Laharl objected. "Laaaaame."

"Don't think of it that way, Prince," Etna piped up. "Think of it as a license to stir up free trouble!"

"Tch, you could sell  _any_  demon that," Laharl countered.

Arika spoke up, cutting off Laharl and Etna's bickering. "What would be the point of us helping you? Do you simply lack numbers, or something else?"

Imamiah took a moment before answering. "I am a creature of revenge, but I also understand the rules of karma. Actions have consequences. I pulled back from taking my home back despite what may have been an easy victory because there are too many dangerous pieces that will cut right through me. That mainly being Ars Goetia itself." As Laharl and the others listened, she continued. "I have someone there, but it will not be enough. I've been fighting for my place for so long—and I can feel victory so close, but as long as Ars Goetia has power, they can easily set me back to square one."

Imamiah looked earnestly at Laharl. "Please. Lend me your strength."

Laharl thought on it for a moment. With a heavy sigh, he spoke. "Fine. Does Gehenna's old rule have a lot of treasures?"

"Perhaps." Imamiah said, looking hopeful.

"Those are  _mine_  for the taking. The kingdom itself, I'll look into it, and make it easier for you to take it back." He crossed his arms and grinned. "Hn~! I was on my way to check on one of my vassals, anyway. You're lucky this is convenient for me!"

"Glad it worked out that way," Imamiah matched his evil grin with her own.

"Is this how demon lords operate?" Nagi asked warily.

"Yep!" Came Imamiah and Laharl's responses.

"Compared to angels who aren't the Seraph, they actually get things done," Ozonne added. "I have to admit that's one thing I admire about the Erinyes."

"Let's get back to business! Before we were so  _nicely_  interrupted, we were about to walk in Gehenna," Laharl bellowed. "Nagi! Etna! Arika! Let's get moving!"

Nagi stood up and stretched. "Well, that was short, but I always preferred action. Maybe there will be jerks in Gehenna I can trash!" He took a glance at Imamiah, wondering why she didn't try harder to press revenge on him.

"Do take care!" Imamiah smiled pleasantly. As if knowing what he was thinking about, she added, "We can address terms later. I have a feeling you'll be back here pretty soon."

Nagi shivered. This woman scared him.

* * *

Back outside, Nagi and Arika had finally caught up to Laharl, who was standing at the edge of the ship, precisely where he had landed. Etna was nearby, scoping out the edge of the castle, where they were much closer then they had been earlier.

"So we're really doing this?" Nagi asked.

"We're doing exactly what I said we were doing," Laharl answered. "We just so happen to have some extra factors to consider."

"Like we're doing the dirty work of some fallen angel who can't possibly have good aims?"

"True. But to put it simply, she has me by the throat," Laharl was blunt.

Etna and Nagi's eyes widened. Arika didn't betray much emotion, but her thoughts were pretty close.

"She was being nice about it, and likely didn't really want to use it, but thanks to her saving me from my aunt, I owe her a favor. If I refused to help her, she'd  _enforce_  it." He snarled. "Or at least, enforce my non-interference."

"How are you going to counter that, Prince?" Etna asked.

"Simple," Laharl's serious face became a grin again. "She may be twisted, but at least she's mostly respectful. Hell, the only reason she had probably even considered that crap is because she rightly fears me."

"Really?" Nagi raised his eyebrow. True, Laharl had great power, enough to defeat him, even, but how would that work off a fallen angel who specialized in vengeance?

His incredulity was not shared by Etna or Arika, to which the former grinned and the latter took to answering Nagi. "You've only seen a taste of his power and cunning." Because it was Arika, Nagi shrugged and decided to take her word for it.

"I figured I'd play along, if only because I owe her, not even accounting for her powers. Might even see if she knows anything about that fallen Ala Alba member." He turned back around. "Now where were we? Oh yeah, if I break anything in my body falling into this castle, it's coming out of your paycheck, Nagi!" And he leapt off.

"I don't think so!" Nagi challenged back, pulling out his small staff and grabbing Arika by her waist and jumping after him ("Dammit Nagi waitaminute!" came Arika's complaints about the suddenness).

"Hey Prince! Wait for me!" Etna shouted after them.

* * *

"Oh GEOFFFREEEEYYYYY~!" Mao crowed as he stepped into the confines of his lab. And considering this was his own quarters in the expanse of Evil Academy, it was a very large place, with various, dangerous looking devices, vials and potions, and high tech equipment. It was pretty much a typical mad scientist lair, except bigger and more heroically demonic. However possible it sounded. "Oh GEOFFFFFFREEEYYYY! Also known as SUPER HERO AUUUURRRUUMMMM! Your master is here to seeeeeeee you~!"

Cygnus raised an eyebrow. "Were you always this absurd, sir?"

"Not as absurd as your lack-of-evil back planning!" Mao answered, not even missing a beat. Cygnus groaned, verbally beaten again.

There was a groan. Both demon boys' sharp ears picked up on it and marched over to one of the wide tables, where a mighty figure lay strapped down. His greyish brown skin, chiseled with toned muscle and his odd, swirly eyebrows marked that this man was, at some point, a super hero. The bad lifted until he was facing them. "...hmhmhmhmhm, I thought this might happen, so I installed the ability to raise the table on my own..." His voice sounded a tad delirious.

"Always thinking ahead, aren't you?" Mao sneered. "It's definite proof that I learned from the best. I hope your brainwashing hasn't been completed yet, though. I have questions for you."

Cygnus's stare was surprisingly harder than normal. This man had in fact, nearly upended the entirety of Evil Academy just to get a legendary fight out of Mao—and that didn't account for the nastiness he had done  _before_  then. He wished he'd been there to see his comeuppance. But right now this was Mao's show, so he kept quiet.

But anything he was about to say failed, as there was a knocking at the door. "You should get that." The strapped man said.

"I'm not bothering, probably just some demon trying to sell me stuff." Mao muttered. "Anyway, you should tell me—"

The knocking came again. And now, a familiar voice rang out. "Maaaoooo! Are you in there?"

"You should get that."

"No! Definitely not!" Mao seethed. "Now tell me about—"

KNOCKKNOCKKNOCK! "Maaaaaooo~"

"You should get that," The captured super hero's normally drained face gained a frightening grin. " _Search your heart, you know it to be true._ "

"Dammit, shut uuuuupp!" Mao raged, and pressed a button on the pad. Aurum screamed as electricity fried him for the nth time. Judging by the barbaric screams and giggles, though, Cygnus was not convinced that it was painful. "I'm the one who's supposed to be ripping off villain lines here, not you! Anyway, Cygnus, go answer the door."

Cygnus sighed and shook his head. "If you insist, sir." And he walked over to swing open the door, only to see Beryl. "Eh?"

"You're out here, Mr. Mailman?" Beryl raised an eyebrow. "Why are you in Mao's lab?"

"Because I let him in! Now what do you want? I'm busy!" Mao shouted.

"You did get my letter, right?" She called back, to which she shot a glance at Cygnus, who nodded. "I'm here to ask Aurum some questions!"

"Funny you mention that. I was just about finished," Mao crowed. "You don't need anything here!"

Cygnus quietly mouthed to Beryl,  _He's lying_.

To which Mao said, "I HEARD THAT, SWAN BOY!"

Flabbergasted, Cygnus asked. "How the hell do you hear mouth movement?!"

"It's easy! You just told me you were doing it!" Mao shot him a smug grin, to which Cygnus immediately sank to the ground and started banging his fist in frustration and defeat. Beryl, paying him no mind, walked over to Mao. "Well anyway, before you and swan boy ruined my fun, I was about to ask him who exactly—"

"...is Imamiah?" Beryl finished.

"Dammit, stop interrupting me!" Mao screeched. Beryl just giggled.

"Imamiah?" That voice, coming from Aurum, made them pause. As all heads turned to him, he continued, face wistful. "I have not heard that name in ages. Two hundred years, to be precise."

Mao knew what happened two hundred years ago. Or rather, two hundred and one years ago. "Was it the same year you..."

"I suppose... but that doesn't matter. She refused me any benefit at that point," The fallen hero's dull eyes regarded Mao. Both Mao and Beryl had to stop at that point, puzzling over the implications of this. Cygnus had been quiet.

Beryl swallowed for a moment, then faced him. "Imamiah called you 'old friend'. So how do you know her?"

"Hmhmhmhmhm, she was the beginning of my powers of a hero." The man explained, leering at the two. "At that time her abilities granted me the power to absorb overlords and become stronger. It was a karmic justice, as many of my foes back then were consumed with a lust for power. With her abilities I could steal those powers from them. Just to let you know, you were such a specimen, whether I killed you or you defeated me, I had no aim in taking your powers." Beryl gasped, and Mao merely adjusted his glasses to hide his eyes. "By that point, I was only in it for the fame. Maybe that's why she left. I never really understood her."

"Really," Mao said, after a moment of silence. "So you haven't seen her in the last two hundred years. Does this mean she'll emerge as this awesome threat, and we all have to do insane amount of research and join forces to take her down?"

"I can't say. I could never figure out that woman," Aurum muttered.

Raspberyl sunk in disappointment. "This turned out to be a bust."

Mao raised an eyebrow. "I'll say. But why are  _you_  saying that?"

"I was hoping Aurum knew more about her, like her personality or motivations. I could see what she was going to try and do next," she said, adding a sigh. "Konoka was all worried that she'd come back to harass her again even though she's not going to end the world."

"And what's the importance of that?" Mao said. "Is Konoka not strong enough to oppose her by brute force?"

"It's more than that! Imamiah likes her!" Beryl answered.

The room dropped into silence, air heavy with that revelation.

Then Mao piped up, "And this is a problem because..."

"Get serious, Mao! Whoever rules Gehenna controls a freshly made Dark Assembly, and one of the most powerful ones to boot! Not to mention from what I've heard of her and seen what she did in the attack on that place, she has no idea what 'consent' means!" Beryl shouted hotly.

Being intentionally thick, Mao laughed. "Mwahahaha! So it's like those things in Japan where 'no' means 'yes'? Sounds more like fun than trouble!"

"Maaoooo..." Beryl rubbed her palm on her forehead, irritation rising.

"But in any case, looks like she's in a little more trouble than I thought," Mao mused. "I suppose I have little choice but to accelerate our plans..."

"Mao?" Beryl raised an eyebrow.

"Beryl, I've found some very interesting test subjects, and it's just about time I introduced them to the Netherworld," Mao finally said after a brief moment. "With those people, I'll see what I can do about this... Imamiah. Go say 'hi' to that overlord to me, and better hope she's prepared for the power of SCIENCE! Come along, swan boy!" And he left, "mwahaha"ing all the way. Cygnus stood up, took one last glare at Aurum before leaving. Had Beryl been looking in his direction, she would have seen him sneer right back.

Beryl crossed her arms. This hadn't been a total bust—at least now she knows Mao's got a plan. All she needs to do is help Konoka hold out until then. If she's fast, she won't miss that Ars Goetia meeting! With a smirk even hidden from Aurum, she whispered. "Thanks, Mao." And she took off back to Gehenna.

* * *

"What are you sniveling about?!" Lunzard snarled at Konoka. Both of them rested within the kitchens, with Satsuki once again cooking up a lunch. Konoka, trying not to let her nose run and her tears stain her eyes, sniffed dramatically every three seconds. It seemed that by the time that Ars Goetia could actually be called to action, the Erinyes left... of their own accord. Lunzard was amazed, but also suspicious, as the mad mechanic often was.

"This is all your fault!" Konoka jabbed a finger in Lunzard's direction. "If you had been where you normally were, I would have managed to chase them out earlier!"

"Excuse you?!" Lunzard snapped back. "I'm not the one who not only took TWO of those damned Erinyes prisoner, but also  _somehow_  stole the heart of a third! The  _leader_ , I might add!"

"I didn't mean for that to happen!" Konoka complained, her crocodile tears stopping immediately. "Believe me, I'd love for her to take it back. My heart belongs to another!"

"Really," Lunzard's normal scowl became a sneer, and Konoka wasn't sure if she should start worrying now. "Do you care to  _name_  this person you're wasting your emotions on?"

Satsuki was not sure why she started listening harder.

Konoka stopped, as if she had been trapped by a pack of hungry lawyers. "Umm... ah... it's a secret! I'm sure you don't actually care..."

"You're right. I don't."

Satsuki felt some relief wash over her for some indiscernible reason. Konoka just frowned and crossed her arms.

"What I  _do_  care about, however," Lunzard began again after the awkward pause, "is the fact that Ars Goetia is now here, and they're having a session today. They're stubborn and truly annoying. I don't envy your position—not one bit! But now, seeing as the Erinyes have emerged again, I have no choice but to lend you my strength now. My security systems are finally online, so no more sneak attacks like last time."

Konoka visibly brightened.

"Don't get me wrong. As one of the few remnants of the old rule, I'm merely covering my own rear. You're just collateral protection."

"Spoken like a true tsundere!" Konoka chirped.

"What the hell does that mean?" Came Lunzard's sharp objection.

Satsuki had finally finished—she had made a number of meat buns. As she brought the confections to their side, she also added. "What  _does_  that mean, Konoka-san?"

Konoka shrugged, seeing as both of them were clueless about such a term. "Nothing, I guess." But a moment passed, and Konoka realized something. "Satsuki-san? Did you just call me by my first name?"

"I-I did..." Satsuki answered, looking a shade embarrassed.

Konoka squealed in delight and gave her a hug. "Yay! You're opening up now!"

"N-now Konoe-san, please don't get overexcited..." Satsuki tried to maintain her composure, but Konoka being so full of energy was not making it easy for her at all.

"Don't even try to switch back! We're on a first-name basis now!" Konoka cheered, hugging her more now. Satsuki stuttered some protests, but didn't really fight her off. Lunzard just raised an eyebrow at the two of them, not really sure what the big deal was. Even considering culture differences, Konoka never cared about those other people using her first name. Why her?

Screw that, there was food on the table, and he was hungry! He took the first meat bun and ate it hungrily. Soon enough, Konoka and Satsuki stopped the hug-fest and all three began to eat on them, with Satsuki going a tad slower than the other two.

When they had about finished, a Prinny rushed in. "Hey doods! Ars Goetia is waiting for the overlord to begin the session, dood!"

Lunzard frowned and crossed his arms. "We had business with them anyway, but the fact that they're waiting for you..."

Konoka finished his thought. "...that's not a good sign, is it?"

"Not a chance." Lunzard stood up.

"Still," Konoka said. "I have business to do. Let's get to it."

Satsuki piped up. "Let me go with you."

"You're up against the worst demons in Gehenna," Lunzard said coldly, appearing to try and cut down on that idea. "A mere human will be tossed aside by the system."

"Konoka needs all the support she can get. I refuse to let her... to let you two face them alone," Satsuki insisted, setting the plates down and drawing closer. Her thoughts drew back to her trip to Konoka's mind, and how Setsuna had been lodged in there. "I know I'm just a cook, but I'm worried about Konoe—Konoka-san. If I'm going to be her vassal, I need to help her any way I can."

"Satsuki-chan..." Konoka murmured.

"Hmph! Don't blame me when they pass a bill to use you as a soccer ball and it succeeds! I've seen worse stupidity passed in my time!" Lunzard crossed his arms, seeing that he was obviously not going to win this battle. "Now let's go. Don't want to keep those lunatics waiting."

Konoka shared a smile with Satsuki. The trio set themselves and marched behind the Prinny, moving out of the hall, and down through the double-doors, to the lower part of the castle and to the courthouse.

Konoka shifted to the front as they approached the doorway. Turning to the other two, she took a deep breath. "I have no idea in how this will go."

"Don't worry. I have faith in you." Satsuki said, putting on her calmest smile.

"It's not that I like you, but I like Ars Goetia even less," Lunzard added with a cheeky smile. Satsuki and Konoka decided to ignore him while they still could. The latter took one more deep breath, and, using her strength, smacked the door open.

There were already several senators there—nearly all of them familiar. The demons she met before—people like Mei and Rozalin, and Adell. She saw Wilhelm, Mana, and Koyomi and Tamaki. Speaking of Mana, she had stopped glaring at someone else and looked at Konoka, passing a small smirk by way of greeting. There were a few more unfamiliar faces, namely some lesser demons, the only one distinct to her was wearing a top hat, and reminded her of Sir Sweet.

But then the "original four" stepped in. Yui, in her elegant, spidery splendor skittered in, grinning deviously. Andras, looking more crow than human, appeared without her mount, but just as intimidating as ever. Prinny K, walked in, feeling even more familiar to her now that she could feel his power.

The last to appear was the chilling King of Dust, swirling into existence just as Konoka stepped to her smaller podium. The undead monster let out a sinister chuckle as his hollow gaze fell upon the young overlord. "With your presence here, Ars Goetia is now in session." His numerous voices still caused Konoka to shiver.

"Come, Overlord Konoka," King of Dust bellowed, a nasty grin forming on his face. " _We have much to discuss._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, be sure to check out my author's notes on my profile, the TVTropes page, and more! Just because I could, I pulled a couple of points in from the Disgaea novels, mostly to push Laharl's character back to how he was right after Disgaea 1. Next up is the first Ars Goetia/Dark Assembly meeting! Enjoy, doods!


	15. Chapter 14: Session I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Konoka holds her first meeting with Ars Goetia, the most wicked Dark Assembly. SURELY THIS WILL GO WELL

Even in its "under repairs" state, the courthouse that would soon serve Ars Goetia looked marvelous, even to Mana Tatsumiya. The lone mercenary halfling demon walked in, gazing at the place and letting loose a low whistle. "This is quite the place." And indeed it was. Even though sections of the wall held claw marks and part of the rear set of tables had been destroyed, the visible work of prinnies patching up the place covered such a flaw. The courthouse managed to make its 'ruined' part actually fit with the décor.

"I'd say so, too." Came a refined voice. Mana's eye fell upon a rather tall demon boar with a maroon tuxedo and tophat. "It's been ages since I stepped foot in here. Not having to deal with a madman is quite the benefit."

Mana found him... intriguing. "And you are?"

"Lord Junkie, at your service," The Moab noble took a bow. "Graduate of the Demon Research Institute, current researcher for the Moab community."

Mana gave a smile that wasn't quite a smirk. "Mana Tatsumiya. Current student at Demon Research Institute, mercenary for hire."

"Oh?" That got an eyebrow from Lord Junkie.

"I was in the human world for the longest time, and was stationed there to keep an eye on a few people. But that mission's over, so I'm continuing my education in a more... appropriate environment." She gave a grin. "I was a little surprised that they wanted me to continue my priestess work, but it looks like humans are growing more tolerant these days."

"That is something of a sore spot," Lord Junkie twisted his mouth into a frown. "On the one hand, it means running around in the human world is much easier. On the other hand, humans don't really fear us like they used to."

"There's always new ways to drum up the same old emotions," Mana said. "I just prefer to cut to the chase."

"Ah, the youth is always impatient," The demon magician twirled his staff. "I wonder what that means in the new overlord. She's a bit too young for this job, if you ask me."

Mana actually felt compelled to leap to Konoka's defense, if only to keep Setsuna's drive in mind, but decided to stay neutral. "We'll see."

From there, a few others appeared; Mana actually recognized Koyomi and Tamaki. And then there was that fiery red-head and that hugely rich-looking girl he escorted around. There was even that count that stoned Negi's village—this was going to be pretty interesting when things actually started up.

It was when Konoka stepped in that things became truly interesting. Mana noted that, rather than being flanked by Sakurazaki, the cook Yotsuba was by her side instead, alongside that Lunzard fellow. Her demon senses always picked up Setsuna nearby, but could never figure out why she never saw her—perhaps there was something else going on with Konoka.

That was when the big leaders showed up. There was first, a beautifully sinister spider woman, scuttling towards her pulpit. This was followed up with a huge, feminine crow wearing shiny armor, and then one of those... prinnies, who felt oddly familiar to her for some reason. However, it was the swirling formation of sand appearing that actually got Mana to stand up and notice. The King of Dust appeared, in all of his sandy, undead glory, sneering down at Konoka from his seat in the pulpit. "With your presence here, Ars Goetia is now in session." The undead monster announced. "Come, Overlord Konoka.  _We have much to discuss._ "

There was an air of silence about the room as Konoka swallowed nervously. All eyes were on her, and quite frankly the way they did so intimidated her, though later she would blame ninety percent of it on the King of Dust and Rozalin. She then gave a timid smile. "Y-yes, so um, let's."

"It has come to my attention that you have recently averted a crisis from those dreaded Erinyes, if I am correct?" The King of Dust tapped a gnarled finger on his stand.

"Y-yes..." Konoka began.

"Erinyes?" Rozalin raised an eyebrow.

"Horrifying creatures," Andras spoke up, her voice sharp and rough in her crow form. "Because of the way they hook onto people's karma, they are especially dangerous, even while lacking power. We came this close to having the place overrun with them, had I not chased them off."

"But considering that their powers were under ban here, I wonder how they managed to sneak into the castle," the King snarled, once again tapping his finger.

"Banning their powers does not ban  _them_ , just their trump card."

"You mean you're not as stupid as you look?"

"Of course I'm not stupid! I'm just scatterbrained!" Andras interjected, before settling down and looking around, almost shamefully. "...sometimes!"

"You should at least describe what they look like," Adell added. "So next time they show up, we can punch them in the face before they try anything!"

"That's about the  _last_  thing you want to do with them," The long haired Yui sneered, black eyes looking in Adell's direction. "Lest you want your own face punched in with your own power."

"I've felt stuff equal to my own power and worse!" Adell countered. "If they're really a problem, bring it on!"

"I'm afraid it doesn't work that way, demon hunter," the King of Dust sharply cut into his conversation. "If you strike one down, the remainders grow in power. And while they aren't an issue now, we need to make sure they can't come back and... recharge." He pulled out a book, letting it slam against the table in which he stood behind. Even from her vantage point, Konoka could tell that said book looked awful similar to the book Dynamis had, even as the wicked King opened it, flipping through. "Ah, that's very bad, isn't it? It appears the moratorium on their karmic powers has been lifted! I wonder who did such a thing," he swept a glare over to Andras.

"W-what the hell are you looking at me for?!" The crow reared back nervously.

"So I take it you're also too quick to cast judgment too, dood?" The enigmatic Prinny K raised an eyebrow at the display. "We don't have time for such foolishness, dood. If that law is critical for protecting this kingdom, it needs to be back in place."

"Quaint, you're actually serious," the King of Dust remarked. "So you want to push that bill to the table, or should I?"

"I'll do it, dood," Prinny K answered, lifting to the bill. " **I declare a moratorium on Erinyes karma.**  Who's in favor, dood?"

"Wait!" All eyes fell on Konoka again—albeit this time, she was flailing about, looking haphazardly at the small gathering. "I'm new to this, what's going on right now?"

Lunzard raised his eyebrow, but then remembered Konoka's state, and then sighed.

Shamefully scratching her head, Koyomi stood up. "Yeah, I'm not exactly good at this either."

There was an awkward pause, as the members of Ars Goetia looked at each other. Finally, the "original four" sighed collectively (even the King of Dust). "Who recruited these people anyway?" demanded Andras finally. When all eyes fell on Konoka again, who only had a blank, confused smile, she sighed. "I admit defeat. I am a demon who supposedly spreads discord, and yet our overlord does far better with just the simplest of intentions. For that, I applaud you, grand demon overlord."

"What." Konoka felt utterly nonplussed at those words.

Lunzard smacked his face into his palm. "Ugh, it looks like I'm going to have to show you how it's done." Satsuki and Konoka looked at him, but he pushed forward and slammed his fist on the podium. "Don't you fools have a tutorial for this?!" However, he stopped, and a glint in his glasses popped up on his face. "Oh wait, I bet you don't. Making it easier to manipulate her, hmmm? Don't make me bring out ways to even up the game."

However, to Lunzard's surprise, Prinny K stood up. "I knew this day would happen, that's why I prepared a video (Thanks, Jack Rakan)!" He clapped his fins. "Bring out the video!"

There was a moment of quiet before the wheels of a cart could be heard. Appearing from another side of the room was a girl in a white and red suit-like skirt pushing a cart. With blue hair barely reaching her shoulders and shading one eye, the girl looked strangely cute and somber, like a red-eared bunny rabbit. The projector came to a stop in the center of the room. The strange girl bowed and slowly made her exit.

Prinny K pulled out what looked similar to a video cassette, bounced over to the projector, and stuffed it in. Konoka swore that he didn't actually put it in any interface that would accept the thing—just banged on it enough until it disappeared inside. The projector flickered to life, displaying a video in the middle of the room. Konoka was still weirded out on how Prinny K managed to make that work, but his sharp cry of "PAY ATTENTION!" brought her to the video.

It mildly flickered, before straightening out, the sepia screen displaying boldly, "THE DARK ASSEMBLY AND YOU."

"Why does that first 'a' look like an 'o'?" Konoka blinked.

"All stupid. All the time," Lunzard seemingly rolled his eyes behind those glasses and burrowed his face in his palm.

* * *

What appeared to be a small boy was dejectedly kicking a pebble, in what looked to be a poorly framed background of 1950's suburban America, complete with carbon copy small houses. A much taller and older man, looking more like a stranger in a trench coat than a father figure, watched him stroll on by. "What's the matter, Jimmy?" The man's voice gave him away as a poorly disguised King of Dust.

"Nothing... dood," "Jimmy" muttered, and a closer look revealed him as Prinny K, wearing just a button down shirt.

"That's not the tone of nothing. Why dontcha tell me what's  _wrong_ , Champ?" The supposedly father-like King of Dust sneered at "Jimmy". He twitched in irritation from some off screen shouting, but he kept going.

The boy answered, "I want to do more stuff, dood, but I just don't have… Don't have…"

"Don't have  _what_? What don't you have?"

"I just don't have the ability, dood," The boy looked heartbroken… Sorta. Prinny K shook his head slightly but endlessly, making it look like he was overacting just because he felt like it.

The man stood up and seemed suspiciously chipper. "Well that isn't much of a problem, Jimmy. You just need...  **the Dark Assembly**."

Jimmy looked up at him, squinting to keep the sun out of his eye (or was it the poorly aimed lights?). " **Dark Assembly** , dood? What's a Dark Assembly?"

The man chuckled like an old supervillain holding a rite of passage secret. "Why the Dark Assembly is the perfect thing for any overlord to do the things they need to do but might not have the time for."

"Like the government, dood?" Tried Prin—err Jimmy K.

"Nope. Not at all!" The sinister "father figure" gave a rather cheeky grin.

"I'm confused, dood. What is it like, then?" Jimmy tried.

"Well, you see..."

The camera faded to some art deco style animation. A gender neutral demon figure stood before a towering group of darkened baddies, a look of fear on its face. The sinister voice of the King of Dust continued speaking.

"All legislative activity of Gehenna has to pass through the Dark Assembly, no matter the scale. Whether it be the need for a new minion or even global enchantments!" The image of the demon changed to reflect the narrator's description. "No matter the importance, the Dark Assembly will vote on your bill and it will go into effect right away, all you need is some magical energy as payment. And with the Dark Assembly being active members of the community, they might even pass their own bills. Be sure to visit often, or your life in Gehenna will be Hell (instead)."

"Now all this talk might have you wondering, 'Well that sounds as slick as wax. I can get all my wishes granted.' But let me tell you that's some dangerous thinking! Just because they'll vote on your bill doesn't mean it will pass. But like with all governments, there are loopholes. However, these loopholes are widely known and are accepted as rules within the Dark Assembly. If your bill doesn't pass, you can take two routes.

"One. You may fight the Dark Assembly in a motion called 'Persuasion by Force.' If you win, the bill will pass. The members of the Dark Assembly will still likely hate you but laws are laws, and soon, yours will be too. The same applies for the power of veto. We fight you and if you win, they'll repeal the bill you don't like. But be warned, this will only work once, so make sure you're absolutely certain you can win."

"The second method is a little less hard on your body. As senators, they accept donations to their various causes, be they favors or in the form of currency and other small gifts. There is one caveat though. If you introduce a bill they generally like and it still isn't passed, you may find yourself with teammates for the fight afterwards. So get to your work on your charisma and networking abilities and have some real power in the senate!

"But  _be warned_ , as not all senators are equal. Some are higher class demons while others are nothing short of eldritch horrors. And naturally, because the universe hates your pathetic life, the eldritch horrors have more vote so they count more. Don't think you can count out the weaklings, either. They just might be cunning enough to pull something against you. So pick your fights wisely, get to work on your influence, and someday soon, you just might be an overlord worth your salt that all of Gehenna can enjoy."

The film faded back to "Jimmy" and the "man in the trenchcoat".

"So did that... help you any?" The sinister trench-coated demon sneered.

Just like an overactive kid, Prinny K bellowed, "SURE DID, DOOD!"

The King of Dust lost all pretense of acting and stared at Prinny K, annoyed as all hell. "You are truly annoying."

"Not as annoying as you, dood," Prinny K challenged, dropping into a fighting stance. "We were supposed to walk in and get apple pie and stuff, dood."

"I care not for such a thing, your annoyance will not stop me this time," The King of Dust made his own fighting stance, before the two of them crashed together in a burst of light. There was some clashing noises at the video ended. The black card at the end mentioned that the film was copyright of the "Gehenna Dark Assembly Board of Information in'MMVII.'"

* * *

"That... was interesting." Satsuki gaped, stunned by the video. "I suppose that means we have to pass laws carefully?"

"Good luck getting anything through," Lunzard groused. "Level judges influence, and King of Dust alone would reject any bill sent his way. You're likely going to be spending this whole session vetoing their crap and praying enough of them take side with you."

"Why so pessimistic, Lunzard? We're not  _that_  much of a stick in the mud," Yui called down. She then gave a nudge in his direction, despite not being close enough to tap him. "Right, Kingy?"

"Do not call me Kingy," The undead monster groused. "In any case, the Erinyes moratorium..."

"Waaaait!" Called out a voice.

The double doors leading to the courthouse burst open, and Flonne appeared, toting a backpack. She came to a stop next to Konoka, who looked at her curiously. Flonne gave a friendly wave to her before turning back and addressing the assembly. "The Dark Assembly is in session, right? Nice~! I wanna pass something!"

Mana raised an eyebrow. Had this fallen angel stolen Konoka's personality?

"What exactly do you wish to pass?" Andras seemed perplexed at Flonne's cheery personality as well. The crow appearance fell in a swirl of black feathers, and she was once again a sharp, matronly looking woman.

"Well um, I went to Celestia earlier today, and they didn't have any copies of Ninja Effort Gorillian around!" Flonne sighed. "So I was hoping you guys would help expedite some copies here because this place doesn't have a video store yet!"

"I'm not even going to waste money or mana trying to get a video store built," Lunzard snapped at her. "So don't ev—"

Konoka gave him a dope slap with her tail.

"Owwww!"

Her bubbly personality returned, Konoka chirped, "That's a great idea! I support this notion!" Flonne giggled, pleased that Konoka saw eye to eye with her. As usual. "You should go on and ask for the DVDs though."

Satsuki gave a calm smile. "You can pass requests as simple as those?" Maybe she won't be caught up in demon madness.

Flonne nodded, and Konoka stepped out of the way so she could begin the process. Flonne drew magical power, tapping the center of the podium to begin the transfer. " **I want a DVD store so I can have some Ninja Effort Gorillian DVDs**!" And, to Konoka's surprise, Flonne also pulled out a chart, showing the current senators and what appeared to be their current opinions on the matter.

Rozalin was the first to speak to Flonne. "I might pull in the order... provided that I get to watch them too, right?"

Flonne beamed. "Of course! The more, the merrier!"

"Then I'll be glad to support this bill," Rozalin declared.

Adell, looking at both his partner and Flonne, gave a dubious look. "Don't you have like, several of those movies already? This one's almost no different!"

" _Almost no different_?!" Flonne took horrifying offense to such words. Her eyes alight like fire, she pointed furiously at him. "No way! The DVD that I want is the final showdown between Gorrillian and the Guild of Malicious Will! It just released, and Celestia doesn't have any stock! I  _must_  have it!"

"You're still not convincing me to have a store down here just for that," Adell rolled his eyes.

"Will this go towards other DVDs as well?" piped up Lord Junkie, twirling his cane.

"Of course!" Flonne chirped.

"And I'm still not convinced you care beyond that," Adell added.

"But of course I do!" Flonne said, pulling something out of her backpack. It was another DVD, this one entitled "Hot-Blooded Workouts!". She gave it to Adell. "You could get more like this!"

Adell... wasn't sure how to react.

"Enough games," Andras hissed. "We make a final deliberation." She turned to Konoka and Flonne. "Are you two ready?"

Konoka nodded. Flonne added, "Might as well vote!"

A moment passed.

The wicked King of Dust gave a dark smile. "I will do you a small favor and abstain from this vote. Not worth my time."

"I suppose it won't matter," Andras shrugged, before assuming a stern tone. "Because I still vote Nay."

"Nay," Adell said.

"Aye!" Rozalin immediately piped up after that, causing the couple to glare at each other.

"Aye!" Lord Junkie crowed.

The other demons and members voted, with the vote staying positive by a close margin.

"The bill has passed," The King of Dust concluded, banging a gavel on the stand. "You can see your results within two weeks." He looked like he was about to say something else, but stopped.

To that, Konoka and Flonne cheered, hopping up and down in celebration. "Hooray!" And Satsuki gave a small smile. She might ask for a few better food supplies, and to keep an eye on Sir Sweet. Hey, maybe some funding might not hurt.

However, those hopes were dashed as the doors behind them swung open and Turmeric appeared. "That's  _right_ , everyone! I, Turmeric of the Phoenix Clan,  _have arrived_!"

The blank stares from everyone were more than enough reaction to show how they felt about this arrival.

"I've heard that the Dark Assembly is  _finally meeting_!" He crowed, taking the stand. "As such, it's time that I made the  _first_  demand that is  _actually_  worthwhile!" He missed Flonne twitching as he finally bellowed. " _ **GIVE ME MONEY**_!"

It didn't even take two seconds before the first response. "Nay." Came Andras.

"Nay," Came Mei's steady voice.

"Nay," Lord Junkie.

"Neigh," That was Tamaki pressing the button on a toy horse (Koyomi also supplied a "Nay!").

"Nay," Yui said, completely unamused.

"Nay," Prinny K was amused, but certainly not at Turmeric.

" _Hell no_." Rozalin said tersely.

"What she said!" Adell agreed with her.

"Nein," Wilhelm said.

"Nay," Came Mana.

"You already know my answer by now," King of Dust hissed, banging his gavel once. "Get out of my sight." A unanimous Nay all around.

"You take me for a  _fool_? I'll crush  _the entire senate_  for it!" Tumeric bellowed, smacking the big, red button that said "Schmuck Bait" (although it should have said "Persuade by Force") and letting the buzzer ring through the room. He aimed his sword, bent his knees, and jumped into the air, readying a leap attack as the other members of Ars Goetia got into their own fighting stances.

They need not have bothered—Turmeric misaimed his attack and crashed into the table, just below Mana's seat. There was a long pause, with Konoka looking uncomfortably at everyone else's confused faces. Eventually, Mana rose and poked the fallen Turmeric with her sniper rifle. "You weren't beaten to a pulp, so give me money. I need lotion for my itchy trigger finger."

" _What_?!" Turmeric complained from his self-made crater.

"M-Mana-han, please spare Turmeric-han." Konoka said. "I know he's stupid, but..."

"If you insist." Mana said, pulling back and sitting down. "He still owes me money, though."

" _Arrrgggghhhhh_..." No points for guessing who.

_Note to self, never ask Ars Goetia for money,_  Satsuki mentally noted.

"Now, as I was saying, Miss Overlord," The King of Dust spoke crisply, making a show of dusting himself off. "We have called you here for a reason, and that reason is the Erinyes law."

Konoka paused. "Well yes. Not that I mind, but it was Prinny-K-han who put up the proposition, right? How does that law work? Isn't it supposed to keep them out?"

"If it were that easy, we wouldn't need this deliberation," Yui answered, still the ever-present grin on her face. "The law signified that no use of karma for any magic, physical power, or ability, shall have any effect on any resident of Gehenna. It makes sure that, should they actually try and fight someone within these walls, that they can't use their dreadful little powers to get the upper hand."

"So why do you need me to put the law in motion?" Konoka asked.

"We don't," King of Dust answered tersely. "You just have to be present and watch while we fix your silly mistakes and these annoying loopholes that cropped up."

"My mistakes?!" Konoka reeled back.

The King of Dust ignored her at this point, thumbing through the book. He paused, then reared back, as if the book had suddenly blown a raspberry at him. "You're joking."

"What is it?" The top-hat wearing Junkie asked.

"There's a clause here I don't remember voting on. It states that, 'In emergencies, deemed by the power of Ars Goetia or the overlord, all seals on all powers that benefit the residents of Gehenna are revoked." He paused. "How exactly would those obnoxious fallen angels benefit someone here?" Once again he swept a critical eye to the other congress members. "Either way, I vote we shut down this clause immediately."

"Better idea," Prinny K interjected. "Just make that Erinyes karma an exception."

"..." The King of Dust couldn't think of any strong objections to that.

* * *

"Isn't the point to make sure we aren't caught off guard?" Nagi asked, somewhat annoyed as he caught up to Laharl. He, Etna, and Arika landed next to the diminutive overlord, who was standing there quietly, with his arms crossed.

"Of course!" Laharl crowed. "That's why we're going through the  _front door_."

"Wouldn't this overlord have like, a ton of traps for us?" Etna asked.

"Not if she doesn't want an  _international incident_."

"Would demons even care about things like that?" Nagi asked.

However, both Etna and Arika poked the mage's side. He looked to either side of him, and the shaking heads told him all he needed to know: "Let him think what he wants." With a sigh of defeat, he watched as Laharl ruthlessly punched the door open. Might as well join in, he thought, joining Laharl's swagger inside and letting Etna and Arika keep their class.

* * *

Konoka couldn't put her finger on it—something told her that agreeing with this law might be far more dangerous than what she was seeing here. Apparently, Satsuki noticed the consternation on her face, as she then asked, "Konoka-san, are you okay?"

"I feel like I'm missing something here..." The overlord murmured. "There's something really important about what's going on here."

"So, now that it's ironed out, are there any objections?" The King of Dust asked crisply.

"Aye," That voice stopped the entire room. All heads turned to Mei, quietly standing there. After a moment, she answered, "I doubt I'll persuade anyone, but let me say this: from what I know of the history of this place, you have been fighting the Erinyes for many years. What did they do that would warrant the lot of you putting up with Zegnant for a thousand years?"

That got a pause out of everyone. But most of all Konoka, who found this mildly curious, and regressed into deep thought. That was Mei, right? Didn't Imamiah say something about Mei holding her interests?

"I take it you have not heard of the term 'bad blood'," the King of Dust finally answered. "It's doubtful they'll be in a forgiving mood at this point."

Mei paused and nodded, as if accepting that. Then she added, "...but the overlord repelled them with an act of  _kindness_ —something nearly alien to the previous overlords and top residents." She took a brief look around before ending, "Ah, but I've spoken out of line. This humble maid will stop right here."

There was a pause once more, before the King of Dust banged his gavel in irritation. "Fine. We vote. For the record, in favor of the fix and reinstatement of the ban, I vote aye."

A few words were spoken, and the only 'Nay' vote came from Mei.

"Well then, with this," The King of Dust began pulling up that book again. "I can now declare that this is now—"

A loud buzzer stopped everyone in their tracks. Many surprised faces suddenly looked over to see that Konoka had banged her tail on the 'Schmuck Bait' button.

Lunzard, who hadn't done much up to this point, was now in full panic mode. "What the hell did you just do?!"

A very irritated King of Dust gave but three words: "Explain yourself, overlord."

Konoka, turned around between Lunzard and the King of Dust, didn't see where here tail was until she looked back. Sure enough, it had smacked the button. "Eh?"

She began to sweat buckets.  _She did not mean to press that button_. "Ehhhh?!"

Prinny K had no words. He only had a flipper to introduce to his face.

Satsuki and Flonne stood agape in horror.

The King of Dust shook his head and buried his head in a palm, hiding a wicked smile in his face. "Ah, you silly girl. What is your objection to this law?"

"I don't  _have_  an objection to that law!" Konoka immediately shot back, nervous smile on her face. "That was totally an accident! You can vote that law in, right?"

Yui, who had been holding herself and shaking during the whole thing, suddenly burst out laughing. "Ahahahaha, you're going to be the most fun we've had in  _years_."

The King of Dust chuckled. "But you pressed that button, didn't you?" He stood up to his full height. "You can't undo accidental button presses, girlie. You're in boss fight mode, now. So let me show you the errors of your ways, Miss Overlord." He glared one eye socket at her, the red energy within his skull glistening brightly. At once, Konoka felt her heart beat—far too strongly.

"What..." She hissed, feeling something terrible start to squeeze her very soul. She could barely pay any attention to the terrified shouts of "Konoka!" behind her. She could hardly think, hardly breathe—

That all changed when a large magical gate opened up above her. "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahaha!" Konoka had no time to think, as a giant meteor appeared and slammed into her and exploded. Too weak to move but stunned that she wasn't blown to smithereens, Konoka groaned from the smoking crater in the ground.

Laharl landed beside her a moment later, followed by Nagi. "Hn! Looks like we got here just in time!" To which Nagi showed his agreement with a grin.

"Laharl!" Flonne cried with joy, not caring at the horrorstruck look Satsuki had right next to her. "You came to visit!"

"Of course I did!" Laharl bellowed, looking back at her. "Looks like this overlord's plan got screwed over."

Nagi looked at the smoking, defenseless Konoka on the ground. "Ummm..."

Flonne immediately clenched her fists under her face, upset. "No, Laharl! That was an accident! The enemy is up there!" She pointed to the King of Dust at the top, who was now visibly annoyed.

Laharl watched as he lifted one gnarled hand into the air. "So I just have to beat these jokers, right?" He pulled out his sword, whirling it once before dropping into a fighting stance. Just in time, too, as one hundred and one arrows of sand formed above the King's claw, and shot towards Laharl. He twisted himself to dodge, but a magic barrier and several spear strikes saved him the bother. "Dammit Etna, I could have dodged that!" Laharl complained as Etna and Arika appeared at his side.

"What, and deprived us of a cool entrance? I don't think so, Prince," Etna smirked, especially as she heard Flonne's happy cry of "Etna!"

"We have issues at hand. We need to beat this senate first and talk later," Arika said, whipping out her thin sword.

"Then leave Mr. Dragon-and-Bones to ME!" Laharl roared, rushing to close the distance between him and the sandy undead monster.

Nagi, staff at the ready, began to ready himself to jump after him, but someone talking distracted him. "Man, you guys are pretty rude, trying to screw up a senate meeting!"

"I know, right?" Nagi agreed, turning around to find himself face to face with Adell. His opponent was flexing his fist and the Thousand Master could sense the incredibly strong fire element he possessed. "It's not like I signed up for this. I'm just here for a little justice!"

"Justice? As a hero, let me show you how that works!" Adell's hand burst with the power of flames.

"Ha! You think I've forgotten what heroism is like as long as I've been around? I don't think so!" Lightning crackled in Nagi's fist. With manly yells, both redheaded men lunged at each other for a fight.

"Yep, that clown hasn't change a bit..." Etna remarked, observing Adell as he and Nagi swiftly began trading magic-augmented blows. She spotted Rozalin, and considered sending a snide greeting, when she felt a presence materialize behind her. "Aw crap...!" She hissed, leaping to the side and avoiding a vicious sword strike.

"You cannot hope to sidestep madness," Etna, once she could focus again, saw herself looking at Andras, flaming sword poised to attack. "It will leave you ill-equipped to deal with mayhem. Like me."

" _Really_ ," Etna countered drolly, whirling her spear to parry Andras's second attack.

Arika looked at the selection of senators, most of them attempting to fight—and fail against—a certain maid. However, it looked like someone was skittering close to her, and she narrowly evaded webbing aimed at her feet. Sword drawn, she came face to face with Yui. "Long time, no see!" Yui greeted. "I hope you put up as good a fight as last time; that was exciting!" The spider woman focused a stream of magic. Arika found herself jumping towards the spider woman in an effort to counter the stream of flames searing under her.

In the meantime, Laharl's battle was long underway. The diminutive overlord took a strong leap that Turmeric only wished he could imitate, taking a wide, powerful slash at the undead king's torso. The King of Dust's eyes widened as the slash ripped his torso in two...

...then he grinned snidely before disappearing in a whirl of sand.

"Tch!" Laharl hissed. "He's a step above the dragon zombies."

"...nice try, kid." The undead king swirled back into vision, only his head forming first, then his upper torso and cloak. Only when he saw a glove emerge did Laharl realize that a counterattack was headed his way, and he dove to the side as three sandy spears crashed where he was not a millisecond ago. Easily recovering from that, Laharl flipped up, readying his sword and this time, charging a bit of mana into the blade. He swung the blade, an immense wave of energy flashing outwards.

This one the King actually had to dodge, whirling just out of harm's way seemingly with just his cloak.

"Ha!" Laharl followed up with a second one, not as strong as his first but much faster. The King of Dust, in the middle of casting, grimaced as a last minute evasion didn't quite go as planned and the blow seemingly hit something—something Laharl noticed. Unfortunately, he also noticed just a beat later that something was threatening to poke at the ground, and what he had been ignoring for the past minute was about to bite him in the ass if he didn't twist his body out of harm's way  _right now_. Just as well, because a massive, rotting hand grazed Laharl's side.

"Certainly an overlord in power, if not quite in size," The King of Dust observed as the rest of the creature that hand belong to emerged. A massive, rotting zombie giant emerged from the waist up, snarling behind him.

"You'll wish you didn't make that size comment," Laharl wasn't noticeably angry, but there was an edge to his voice as he balled up a fist. "Here I come!" Fist flaring with fire, Laharl charged with a magical punch, at the same time that the giant zombie countered with its own heavy punch. Fist met fist with explosive power.

Konoka's body ached. "Nggghh... did anyone get the license plate of the meteor that hit me...?" the youngest overlord murmured, still smoking from the impact of the meteor as she shakily stood.

"Konoka-san!" Satsuki was by her side in an instant.

"I'm okay," Konoka reassured the cook with a smile, though she felt glad the girl was hugging her. Finally seeing that the senate had descended into chaos and there were four new people, however, she blinked. "...what's going on?"

"Laharl's here!" Flonne chirped in happiness.

"Laharl?"

"Yeah, he saved you from getting pounded by the senate!" Flonne said, blithely ignoring the fact that Laharl did so by beating them to the punch. "Right now he's trying to fight them off with Etna and two people I don't recognize."

"Huh..." Konoka observed. Seeing the chaos, it really did look like this new force was beating the senate. Mei was... surprisingly strong, having beaten most of the smaller members of senate. Even Mana was showing reluctance against the maid and her graceful, surprisingly quick attacks. The one she identified as Laharl was battling the King of Dust, and Adell was fighting someone akin to... Negi-kun?! And it looked like they were winning, too!

...wait a minute. "Wait, why are they fighting in the first place? If they win, the senate will take it as a veto to that law!" Konoka hopped on top of the pulpit, in a bit of a panic. "Excuse me!" She called out. However, there was nothing but the sounds of battle. She had effectively been ignored. "Excuse me!" She tried again. Nobody reacted.

At this rate, nobody would listen to her. All of them would either keep fighting, or Laharl and his band would be victorious, leaving them vulnerable to the Erinyes attack. Desperation and heavy annoyance swelling up inside her, Konoka let her wingspan stretch wide. She really didn't want to do this, but...

"What are you doing?" Lunzard questioned again.

"Putting some order in the court," Konoka answered softly, though her voice was strained. "If you've got any barriers, please put them up."

Lunzard paused. He then took a deep breath. "You do know you're probably going to wind up vetoing the bill, right?"

"I'll have to find another way, then," Konoka sighed. "I have to, since I'm the overlord."

"Don't worry, Konoka-san," Satsuki reassured her. "We're with you." To which the angelic-looking Flonne nodded.

"Hm," Lunzard grinned. "Then so be it." From the blue petticoat he wore, he pressed a button on the inside, and the floor suddenly lit up. Lit wires formed a glyph below himself, Flonne, and Satsuki.

" **Nik nak kin kan akonok**!" Konoka hissed as her white wings quivered. "Since they won't listen to my voice, they will listen to my power!" She floated up into the air. The power she drew was so thick, holy lightning rained down around her—fortunately, Lunzard's barrier easily absorbed the stray blasts. " _ **Bring my foes' eyes, ears, and hearts to my voice**_ **!**   **Listen to me**!" And a burst of terrifying light shot out of her wings, tearing around and smashing in front of all of the senate and Laharl's help. Laharl himself and the King of Dust noticed her before she unleashed the spell, and the latter immediately brought up a barrier to guard against the onslaught. Etna shrieked and divebombed out of the way, somehow saving Rozalin in the process (by complete accident). Arika also put up a barrier, but that narrowly failed to save Nagi and Adell from being blown away. Mei simply twirled out of harm's way and let Lord Junkie get blasted into the wall.

While nobody was hurt enough to get knocked out, nobody else evaded damage from that one attack. Least of all the fallen Turmeric, who was blasted into the stratosphere. Mana, one eye shut and in her hazy demon form, clenched her teeth. "How many powerhouses are gathered here? This pressure would crush my magic ignorant classmates..."

"What an... interesting display of power..." The King of Dust remarked.

"Just as Lord Dynamis feared..." Koyomi murmured, holding tightly to Tamaki's hands and pressing against her. "She's crazy powerful!"

"Wait a minute..." Laharl looked down at the huffing Konoka, and then back to the King of Dust. "You mean you're not the overlord?" Back at Konoka. " _She_  is?"

"You weren't aware?" The King of Dust regarded the diminutive Laharl with a sinister smile. "You should know better to judge a person by their looks."

"I wasn't judging her by her  _looks_ , fool!" Laharl shot back, only giving the king a glance before facing Konoka again. "Though she does look kinda like a victim of Flonne's cosplaying. What are you, some personification of a holy dragon?"

"Eh?" Konoka blinked, once again shocked out of her reverie. She looked at herself, terribly confused over such an accusation. ("I don't force people into cosplay! That's mean, Laharl!" Flonne huffed, but she was ignored.) "No way..." She shook herself, then pointed at Laharl and company. "Anyway, could you stop fighting? This was totally an accident! That veto was not meant to pass, so you guys made me push against it!"

Nagi, hardly inconvenienced by the attack, easily flipped back to his feet, and looked over at the young overlord. "Huh. She's the real ruler of this place?" Adell followed suit a moment later, barely any more scratched than Nagi, but still heavily annoyed.

"More than that," The King of Dust cut in crisply, despite his multitude of voices. "That youngling overlord has pitiful control over her power. Hence I'm actually inclined to believe the prophecy against her has some merit."

"Prophecy?" Nagi blinked. He thought about it—this was the overlord everyone was talking about. Salvatore and Fate's words from earlier today rang in his head. "Is that the reason everyone is afraid of her? What does it say?"

"Just as a refresher, it reads this:" And the King of Dust cleared his throat. "Hem hem."

"Hem hem?" Etna quirked her eyebrow.

" _Shut up and let me read it_ ," The undead king snarled, widening an eye socket to curse Etna with the same spell that he tried on Konoka. However, the much more confident (and irritated) Etna snarled and broke its hold on her after a moment.

The King of Dust cleared his throat and tried again. " **For ye to curse this vessel, descendant of the Fujiwara clan, worshipers of the Sun God Amaterasu, with death and sorrow, all your existences shall come to a painful end. She being the last descendant, she must be protected. These worlds shall mean nothing to her without love, or a heart that is steeped in evil.** "

A pause. "It stuns me that most common mortals would take stock on some silly prophet or a shiny book predicting the future," The King of Dust answered. "When they don't have enough facts to go on, all they can rely on is superstition. But apparently, this young overlord actually recited the words against her with enough power to nearly purify the entire castle." That got all eyes on Konoka from where she was standing, making her pale again.

"Perhaps true, but didn't you just say people are relying on silly superstition?" Prinny K hopped on top of one the tables, also recovering from the blast. "If it were just power and/or lack of control of it, half the people in this room would be on a hit list!" Mana raised an eyebrow, and Lord Junkie, dusting himself off, actually paused. "Still, there must be some way for her to prove just how silly the prophecy is."

The color returned to Konoka, and she hopped up. "I agree! I'm not a despot, so can't you guys help me prove that I'm not going to end the world?"

Laharl paused. From where he stood, he looked at the young Konoka, wondering about her character. This was the person everyone was talking about, the 'main character' so to speak. If he  _were_  judging her by her looks, she'd look at best, like a harmless version of a succubus (which is still pretty threatening to HIM, but not by a long shot to most people). She seemed almost naïve from what he'd seen so far, too. Almost all of these reeked of a lack of experience—something he remembered he once suffered.

He grinned. He knew how to solve this.

" _Not a despot_?! What overlord worth their salt says that?" Laharl crowed. "That prophecy or whatever is based on you being too sad to be evil—well guess what?" He sneered, pulling off a giant leap to the pulpit where Konoka stood. "I'm gonna propose a bill that tosses that right out the window." As Konoka scrambled back down on the ground, Laharl turned around to the recovering Ars Goetia. Arms crossed, he boldly crowed, " **I want the overlord of this castle to have a heart steeped in evil! Haaaaaahahahahaha!** "

Stunned silence reigned in the court.

"Y-you can't!" Konoka finally choked out. "I don't wanna be evil!"

The plus-sized Satsuki, blinked, not as nearly panicked as Konoka. "You can pass a bill like that?"

"Are you freaking serious?!" Nagi interjected, nearly livid and crackling with magic.

"Too bad! Any overlord worth their salt has enough evil to end the world five times over! It's how they gain respect!" Laharl stepped down and murmured in Nagi's ear. "Bear with me." He then turned to the pulpit. "So how do you guys see it?"

Hand under her chin in thought, the tall Andras nodded, "That's quite the idea; I could get behind this... However, she needs the correct  _blend_  of evil. One that showers fear and respect, and sows discord and mayhem, but not so oppressive like Zegnant. It will be a magnificent penance for the old court."

"I don't think so," Lord Junkie crossed his arms. "I mean, why pass a law without a snazzy acronym? I'll definitely reconsider if you do." He got stares from all over the court.

"What do you think this is, America?" Yui countered briskly. She then turned a smile to Laharl. "I'd love to see it work, if only to see her fail miserably at it."

"If it's to stop the prophecy..." The draconic Tamaki began.

"...we'll support it," Koyomi finished, her cat ears twitching softly as she was still locking hands with Koyomi.

"What kind of bullshit is this?!" There was a heavy slam of hands on the long table, and all eyes fell on Adell. "Who  _mandates_  evil? We don't need any more of it in these times, especially with someone who doesn't want it!" And Rozalin nodded in agreement, despite having less passion than her partner.

Nagi would also agree, but the overlord was again telling him to stand down. Already, he was feeling annoyed enough, and actually considered rebelling anyway. That was before he noticed the crackling power of someone next to the King of Dust. Prinny K stood there, and he did not look pleased at all. There was something familiar about that Prinny, too...

"Ummm Laharl?" He motioned to the cocky looking overlord.

"What?" Came the reply.

"We might wanna deal with that crazy Prinny before we vote."

"Really?" Laharl quirked his eyebrow.  _He might be powerful enough to sway the vote_ , the small overlord thought, before hopping up to him personally.

Nagi blinked, as one moment, he felt that familiar swell of power, and then the next moment, it was completely off, and the prinny was sharing an old man laugh with Laharl. Wait, old man laugh? It couldn't be...

Laharl came back. "Of course he saw it my way!"

"You never cease to surprise me..." Nagi sighed.

"Okay then, I'm ready to roll!" Laharl said, his scarf swirling behind him ("Nooo!" Konoka wailed, but she was ignored). "What say you?"

The King of Dust once again let out a sinister chuckle. "What an interesting proposition. Your timing originally couldn't have been any worse, but now I see it is certainly for the better. I assume you're ready to vote." Laharl nodded during his pause. "By the way, I vote Aye."

"Nay," Rozalin immediately countered. "Forced evil isn't evil with class. It's just crude desperation!"

"Aye," Mei spoke up, regarding Konoka with a calculating stare. "I think it will be interesting to see how she handles this. I haven't seen power like this since the original Vasa Aergun."

Both Laharl and Adell quirked their eyebrows at this. Wasn't that mouth breather Mao something like that? But enough about that, Adell also supplied a strong " _Nay_."

Konoka could feel a little more hope that maybe this absurd bill won't pass. It grew a little more when Mana voted "Nay."

It was crushed like a sledgehammer when Prinny K voted "Aye!" and there wasn't a single Nay after that.

"Well then! It is now decreed that Overlord Konoka must now achieve a heart of evil," The King of Dust declared. "This court is adjourned!" Even as the oppressed overlord in question heard those words, she was already heartbroken enough to simply sink and ignore the rest of what he said. That was it. She was assigned an impossible task.

"Hoooohohohoho!" Lunzard Torque let out a strong belly laugh. "Looks like you have to step up your game now, girlie! We may have been screwed out of legislative power to deal with the Erinyes, but this will be a saving grace!"

Konoka looked up at him, face completely wretched and teary. It was enough that even he stumbled back, absolutely startled. When he wouldn't say anything, Konoka gasped, "Why..."

Satsuki felt like she was tongue-tied, and unable to think of anything to say, remained quiet.

Flonne, on the other hand, remained resolute. "Don't worry, Konoka! Once your heart becomes filled with darkness and breaks the prophecy, I'll tie you down and make you watch Super Sentai until a heart of justice beats within your bosom once more!" Flonne's eyes were alight with fire and passion.

Konoka's eyes were alight with tears and despair. "But... I don't want to be evil in the first place! You're all  _jerks_!" And with that, she fled the court room, sobbing profusely.

With that, only an awkward pause remained as the senators left one by one (or in the case of Koyomi and Tamaki, together), and Laharl and Nagi exchanged looks. This could be quite complicated indeed.

* * *

"So what the hell did Imamiah just drop us into?" Nagi asked later, approaching Laharl from behind. The diminutive overlord looked back at Nagi, arms crossed. Once again, the overlord seemed less boisterous, and more thoughtful, than he normally was. "She sent us here to go stop someone from passing bills and hopefully rescue someone who didn't want to be overlord. So why..."

"You already know," Laharl said. "I'm not handing that fallen angel  _anything_  on a silver platter. And you've seen that girl's power, haven't you? If she's going to be the main character, she needs to prove it!"

"Huh," Nagi said. "Is that how you sold it to that prinny? That guy was once the dean of a really famous school, you know."

"Famous school is it? He told me that overlord is his grandkid."

Nagi's eyes widened. So what was the dean of Mahora Academy doing down here as a prinny, and why is his granddaughter now a demon lord?

"I told him the law I pressed on her would give her character development!" He sneered. "After all, it explains why a prinny has so much power! Don't you think if Imamiah wants some sappy love story, she can earn it after a hell of a lot more explosions?"

Nagi shrugged. He met Arika through a calmer time, but their life had been filled with explosions afterwards, right? "Guess you have a point." He looked at Laharl again—only to see double. "What the—"

"What?!" Laharl stumbled back, eyes falling on a doppelganger that had been right beside him.

The double seemed hardly perturbed. As a matter of fact, once the gig was up, the double lost Laharl's normal sinister grin. A shield of shadow melted all around him, swallowing him up and reforming into a much taller figure.

"Who are you?" Laharl reeled back.

"Weren't you at the court meeting today?" Nagi scrutinized the woman.

The black-haired maid demon bowed. "My name is Mei. Imamiah contacted me and said help was coming." She shifted a calm eye to Laharl. "That was a spectacular entrance, young overlord. Thank you."

"So you work for her, huh?" Laharl grinned. "So what are you doing down here anyway?"

"Opening up the path for the Erinyes," she answered primly. "I've served Imamiah for many years now. Only recently have I been able to move more freely, however. If you need anything while you're here, please call on me."

"Thanks anyway, but after I talk to Flonne, we're going back." Laharl answered. "Where's Etna and your woman, Nagi?"

" _My woman_?" Nagi blinked, confused on why Laharl was referring to her that way.

"I don't think it's wise to travel back this time of night," Mei advised, her red eyes gazing the two of them. "You should remain the night here. It shouldn't be difficult to arrange a place to sleep... if you need it, that is."

"So it's one of those nights?" Laharl asked. He then sighed. "I take it the ship can't stick close due to all the mayhem that's going on, huh?"

"One of those nights?" Nagi blinked again. "What the hell are you two talking about?"

Laharl shifted his glare to Nagi. "Wait about an hour and see."

* * *

When Konoka woke up again, something felt completely alien. She wasn't sure, but her body didn't feel like her own. "I..." She murmured, rising again from her bed, and looked about the room. Despite the white that blanketed the walls and floors, everything was tinted red. She walked slowly towards the windows, softly unlocking them with strangely familiar hands, and looked up.

The moon, looking down on her white castle, was blood red.

For the first time, Konoka felt a sense of strong confusion. She'd heard of the red moon, but why that was, she wasn't sure.

That was when she spoke. "Why am I... in ojou-sama's body?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I'm alive, many apologies for waiting more than half a year. I see it is still gathering hits and kudos, and for that I'm grateful!


	16. Chapter 15: Red Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And during the red moon, a heart inside Konoka awakens. What mayhem will strike as the moon glows red?

When was the last time she was able to do this?

Basking in the light of the red, red moon, Andras sat down on the castle rooftop, close to the center of the great castle. So many years past, Gehenna's air was often filled with the anguished screams of Zegnant's latest victims, or during the year and a half in which she returned, chilling silence. Everything felt so alien now, considering the chaos that happened. However, with things the way they were now, she could finally be at ease.

With just a small bowl and a bottle of sake, she rested on the edge, letting her feet dangle over the wall. For once, she could actually raise her glass not just for the departed souls of the dead, but for the living that still remained here. Unlike the vile King of Dust, she could not manipulate the dead, neither could she control the souls for her magic—dedicating her respect was the least she could do, considering all the awful things she'd done.

Though now, her mind idled to the new overlord. What type of person would she be? So far she seemed to be a naïve and hopeful young creature, threatened under the weight of despair, contrary to the insane beast that killed a thousand demons and Zegnant three years ago. Would teaching her evil really keep her from becoming that despair ridden beast again? The only way to find that out was see the next day.

After all, just like Andras herself, she has the Erinyes to contend with.

* * *

"Why am I in ojou-sama's body?" A voice that wasn't supposed to be Konoka's asked, first looking at that red, red moon, and then her own body. "I don't... understand." The person inside her tried to recollect her memories. Her past, her discipline, her new-found friends... yes, they were still the memories of Setsuna Sakurazaki—her own memories, right?

And yet, with a little more thought, she could remember things Konoka did too. Her loneliness in the mountains. Meeting Setsuna for the first time. Meeting again at Mahora, and her friendships with Asuna. "I can recall... ojou-sama... no, Kono-chan's memories as my own?" She blinked, pressing her hands against her body. She tried to remember as much as she could—she had nosed into Konoka's memories before, but only just enough to repair them. She didn't feel right viewing Konoka's personal thoughts. And yet here, it was almost like the girl herself was asking the halfling to look into her heart and body. She could look and see all the kindness Konoka had shown her over the years. Even that kiss, with its romantic intent...

...wait, that kiss really  _did_  have romantic intent? Konoka  _did_  like her that way?

"Impossible," Setsuna whispered in Konoka's voice. "She... liked me? Of all people?" A torrent of emotions flooded her at once. Joy that she was loved, incredulity from finding this out by accident, confusion from the woman's teasing...

...despair from the fact that, as she was, she could not return her love.

"I'm so sorry, Kono-chan..." Tears threatened to fall, as she embraced herself. "I'm sorry it took too long..." Her tail wrapped around her leg, sliding ever so closer to her underwear. Partway conflicted and half desperate, the un-Konoka's self embrace became tighter and more intimate.

Then someone knocked at the door. "Hello? Konoka-san?"

"Uwwaah!" The un-Konoka exploded out of her embrace, scrambling back into her bed, as Satsuki came in.

The cook, her pace slow and calm as usual, regarded Konoka as she came into the room. "Are you all right?"

"All right? Of course I'm all right!" the un-Konoka said way too quickly. "I totally wasn't embracing ojou-sama—err I mean my body in a sorrowful tribute to my love!" When Satsuki raised her eyebrow in confusion the un-Konoka immediately added, "Well, I'm sure I have some overlordly things to do even at this time of night, so I'm going to go downstairs!" She hopped out of bed again and flew past Satsuki, heading down the stairs. "Sorry for my rudeness!" And she was gone.

Satsuki blinked in confusion. That was certainly odd for Konoka to say something like that (though she was almost positive the poor girl was somehow repressed, having visited her mind). But then again, that sounded almost perfectly in character for her protector...

...wait a minute.

Satsuki blinked. Did what she thought happen actually happen? Sighing, she went after Konoka.

* * *

"Good for you to return, milady." Raspberyl huffed as she appeared back on the steps as she heard Kyoko's voice. Curse her luck to forget that tonight was a red moon! Partying demons and stronger monsters meant tougher traffic through the gates.

"Auuuugh, I missed the Ars Goetia meeting, didn't I?" the diminutive pink-haired demon sighed dejectedly, before looking at her two retainers.

"Yes," The more demure Asuka answered. But then the samurai retainer shook her head. "It was awful, someone managed to pass a bill that said Miss Konoka had to be evil!"

"What?" Raspberyl nearly shrieked. "How could they?! Konoka's one of the most badass delinquents around, and they're gonna force her in the other direction?! That's worse than the PTA! We must protest!"

"I-I'm afraid it's not that simple, milady," Kyoko informed her, somewhat gloomily. "The bill was proposed by overlord Laharl. And furthermore, the assembly agreed with it on the grounds that it would be a surefire counter against the prophecy."

"Laharl...!" Beryl hissed. She knew that, despite her power, she didn't stand a chance against him, only Mao did. She kept her rivalry fresh against Mao due to knowing his character very well. And with Ars Goetia backing him up, it was doubtful she could even fight that law even with Konoka's help. "Mao..." Beryl murmured sadly. "I hope whatever your planning gets here soon..."

"What now, milady?" Asuka asked delicately.

Beryl tightened her fists, after a moment of silence. "Let's think of a way around this. At least though, we should see if Konoka's all right."

* * *

"Ahahahaha, that's  _classic_ , Flonne!" Etna crowed, doubling over in laughter as Flonne stared at her in blank confusion. Both old friends and new vassals gathered in one of the living rooms in the castle. Arika, sitting across from them, kept quiet, though it was the result of having far more success keeping her amusement down.

"Whaaaaaat? I don't know what you mean!" Flonne pouted.

"So let me get this straight," Etna said, catching her breath. "You've been here for the past... two plus weeks, and you haven't noticed how your overlord swings huh?"

"What do you mean 'swing'?" Flonne asked.

Etna paused. All of Flonne's time down here, and the poor girl was still naïve in certain aspects. She shook her head sadly at this. "Geez, Flonne. Think about it. She spends time with you showing off the virtues of love or whatever, right? All normal. So why does that cook she keeps around keep complaining about her tail doing naughty things?"

"Well, Konoka claimed the tail moves on its own sometimes..."

Arika, who had been mostly quiet and attentive to this point, then piped up, "From my experience, demon tails can be thoroughly controlled, even if they move by instinct from time to time..."

"That's not the point," Etna cut their musings off. "Girls mess with each other from time to time. There are a few guys here, so how come she hasn't bothered them? Or at least, not to the degree she bothers you or the cook? She seems terribly discriminate compared to you."

"But Lunzard is a jerk and Turmeric is an idiot," Flonne pointed out.

"Laharl can be a jerk and an idiot, but that never stopped you."

"But Laharl is different!" Flonne protested. "And I'm sure Konoka would see that!"

"Speak of the devil," Arika interrupted softly. Lo and behold, a moment later, a certain overlord flew by. Konoka, looking somewhat flustered and a shade confused, came to a stop nearby.

Etna, Flonne, and Arika regarded her curiously, especially as she turned and noticed them. "Flonne... han?" The un-Konoka asked.

"Yes?" Flonne blinked.

"This is your chance!" Etna whispered in excitement to the angel. "Why don't you ask her about that stuff we just talked about?"

"Well, ummm..." The cogs were turning in Flonne's head, but she wasn't sure if she was liking what they were generating. "Konoka, is there... something you need to tell me?" Flonne immediately smacked herself mentally for the awkward phrase, and Etna's look helped.

The un-Konoka laughed nervously. "What are you talking about?"

Etna leaned over to Flonne whispering. "Try phrasing it lightly. Like ask if she tosses salad or something."

The un-Konoka immediately went into protest mode. "I'm totally not suspicious! I am a completely normal demon that chop things up and doesn't like girls at all!"

Etna and Arika exchanged glances. "Totally suspicious."

Flonne, who had no clue at all, simply blinked. Why would such a phrase make Konoka on edge?

The un-Konoka decided that her best plan was to bolt. Right now. Taking up her wings, Konoka shot away like a bullet down the hall.

"Waaait!" Flonne cried out, but the white-winged demon had already fled. A brief silence ensued, before Flonne nodded, as if understanding something, and then declared, "We're going after her!"

"Oh, so you're fired up? Count me in!" Etna chirped, as Flonne began to sprint off after Konoka. "I thought this place was gonna be boring!"

Arika sighed. She had no idea why she was bothering, but if Etna was after it, she had no choice but to follow. At the very least, it wouldn't be boring, like she said.

* * *

At the very least, the un-Konoka found the back courtyard empty. The beautiful but chillingly empty look seemed to glare harshly in the eye of the red moon. The only living thing she could see out here were a bunch of sheep-looking creatures with black horns. And they were minding their own business.

Sighing, the un-Konoka looked back at the castle—then realized she might be seen through the many windows facing it. Better hide somewhere else...

" _Going somewhere_?"

The un-Konoka paused, paling because even in her state, she recognized that voice. Turning slowly, she found that her fears were right—that was Overlord Priere standing there.

Grin wide and menacing, Priere didn't even bother with taunts. "Tonight's good. Let's bathe our fists in blood!"

Deep within the un-Konoka's body, Setsuna deliberated—on the one hand, Priere was much too dangerous to engage, with power that rivaled Konoka's as it was. On the other, she had already been angry enough once to engage Priere in battle, and likely wouldn't give herself away.

But really, she couldn't afford to fight Priere now. If she got any of the other resident's attentions...

She turned tail to fly away again.

"Heh." Priere smirked, and within the next moment, much to the un-Konoka's terror, Priere shifted right in front of her. "Why so scared?"

Unfortunately, the shock of seeing her shift in front of her screwed up the un-Konoka's flight, and she tripped right on top of her. "Uwaaah—oof!" they tumbled to the ground.

The un-Konoka pressed her hands against something to support herself and stand once more. However, her hands were on something nice, soft, and very squeezable.

She once again began to sweat buckets, because these nice, squeezable things belonged to somebody she shouldn't be squeezing.

"Oh, so you  _do_  swing that way, huh?" Priere mused. " **Hehehehe**."

The un-Konoka looked to see that, much to her horror, she had landed on top of Priere and was now squeezing her sizable breasts. And Priere didn't look too pleased. Or rather, she did, she just looked a thousand times more violent.

However, an irritated "Baa!" stopped the both of them, and they saw what Konoka actually tripped over—one of the sheep-like demons. Its flat, tan face conveyed terrible rage.

"Cute." Remarked Priere.

Priere knew better than to say that. The sheep-like creature stood on its hind legs, whipping its head around.

The un-Konoka panicked faster. "Oh crap...!" it was all she could do to evade two screaming comets crashing into the ground ahead of her. Immediately, the darker-haired impostor overlord immediately bounced to her feet, shot like a rocket towards one of the back entrances. "Don't want to die today!"

"Hey, get back here!" Priere shouted, bursting after her.

"Baaaa!" And of course, a pack of those wild sheep things chased them as well.

" _Get away from meeee_!" The un-Konoka screeched, barreling back into the castle.

* * *

"What's all that noise?" Koyomi yawned, peeking out in her disheveled bed clothes. Tamaki was not too far behind her.

The lower quarters were not normally made for people etching out their existence here. But apparently, they were at least quiet and private, and with a little furniture and lighting, could make decent bedrooms.

But the catgirl, peeking out, couldn't see much going on yet. Only after a moment did she see Konoka barreling down the hallway, pumping her demon legs as fast as they could carry her. " _Somebody help me_!"

Not very far behind her, a menacing but very amused Priere sprinted after her. " **What's the matter, overlord**?" Priere crowed, managing to keep the fleeing woman in her sights. " **It's not gay if you beat them up afterward! HEHEHEHEHE**."

Last but not least, behind her were a flock of apparently adorable sheep-like demons scampering after her, bleating and snorting wind gusts, which both demon women dodged with little to no difficulty.

After a moment of stunned silence, Koyomi shut the door. "I refuse to involve myself in that."

"Good idea," Tamaki agreed.

"Baaaa." Both of them stared down at the sheep-like demon that had apparently invited itself in, having also agreed with Koyomi.

* * *

Nagi nursed a drink in one of the guest rooms.

"What's the matter?" Laharl taunted, arms still crossed as he sat opposite of the Thousand Master. "Afraid of falling asleep?"

"Afraid? Nah." Nagi set the teacup down, showing he was drinking coffee. "Thinking it's a bad idea to sleep in the midst of demons? You bet your ass yes." He took a sigh. "Nothing like coffee to hit the spot. I don't even know why Arika likes tea so much."

"I suppose you have the right idea. After all, the best demons can get by on occasional naps. Daily sleep is for wussies." Laharl kept quiet about a two year nap he took eight years ago, even if it wasn't his fault.

Nagi hmphed. He took another sip, then stared at Laharl. "I noticed something. What was with that odd look you got when that maid mentioned that Vasa Aergun or whatever?"

Laharl raised an eyebrow. "Odd thing for you to notice." He shrugged. "I know this complete nerd for a demon who has an ability to morph into this huge legendary monster with enough mana. However, he's not even 1600, so why that maid considered him legendary, when I, a younger demon, can kick his ass six ways to Sunday, I'll never know."

Faux-sinister chuckling came to answer him. "That would be because he is not the first." And just a moment later, said maid reappeared in a swirl of black shadows. Mei looked at the two of them, expression cool as usual. If Laharl squinted real hard, however, he might be able to make out the edges of a smile.

"Not the first?" Laharl questioned. "What, his old man?"

"Not him either," Mei answered, looking slightly more wistful. "The original Vasa Aergun predates him by at least a few thousand years. The monster was fond of wreaking havoc with what people considered to be the 'three great evils' that hailed from the darkest depths of the demon world."

Nagi nodded in understanding.

Laharl crossed his arms, but one eye remained sharply on the maid. "Who were the other two?"

"One went by the name of Tenebrae. He was a mass of darkness, but never really stood out in the evil department." That got a raised eyebrow from Nagi and Laharl rolling his eyes. Mei continued. "You are likely most familiar with the other one."

"Baal." Laharl supplied. When Mei nodded in affirmation, Laharl sighed. He never paid attention to history, so why should he care now? "Hn. Figures with him. But what's all this got to do with mouth breather and that 'original Vasa Aergun'?"

"Since Mao's father is no longer around, you'll have to ask Imamiah. She, alongside a powerful mage known as the 'Mage of the Beginning', finally defeated Vasa Aergun some two thousand years ago." Mei supplied.

"Mage of the Beginning?!" Nagi was at attention now, though the urgency of his voice faded with his next words. "Ah, that might explain why she felt so similar to him... or her, whichever one."

Suddenly, he could hear a racket just outside.

"What's that?" Laharl questioned, somewhat annoyed.

Mei slipped by him, and peeked out the door. There, she saw Etna, Flonne, and Arika appearing from one end, apparently searching for something. "I believe the rest of your party is here."

But a moment later, someone else appeared at the opposite end, tearing down the hall like a bat out of hell. Konoka, still dodging the furious attacks of Priere and the mass of sheep-like demons, was still screeching for mercy. " _But I'm telling you I don't want to die!_ "

Narrowly evading being trampled (and pushing Flonne and Arika out the way so they don't get crushed either), Etna snarled as she watched the chase scream by.

"Wait! Konoka!" Flonne cried again, but the crowd was escaping. She motioned to Etna. "Come on, we have to help!"

Laharl poked his face out. "What is it?"

Flonne beamed. "Oh Laharl, please help!"

Suddenly, a wonderful, awful idea crossed Etna's mind, and trying to hide the devious smile that sprouted from her lips, she cried, "Oh Prince, it's terrible! The overlord is a pervert who likes girls, and she stole Flonne and Arika's panties!"

"She what?" Laharl was having a hard time believing that. It seemed too obvious...

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Nagi roared, hopping over both Laharl and Mei. "DID SHE JUST HARASS ARIKA?!" Forget asking any more logical questions, Nagi was already joining the chase. "To think I felt sorry for her today! DEMOOOOOONNS...!"

"That's not true!" Flonne protested, chasing after Nagi. "We were just wondering if Konoka likes to toss salad!" Arika only shook her head before joining Flonne's chase.

"What the hell did you do?!" Laharl burst out the room, leering at Etna while they followed after everyone else.

"Just having a little unexpected fun~" Etna teased.

Laharl groaned. So much for sanity.

* * *

Turmeric sighed. Still recovering from his epic failure he rested in the living room, gazing listlessly at the TV. Nothing interesting was on yet... oh wait, this crossover with this ninja in the orange jumpsuit looked interesting...

However, while watching this show, Turmeric's ears pricked up as he heard a din outside the halls. He didn't actually turn to see it, but he could make out a lot of running, a lot of complaining, a wind spell or two...

He had just started watching the part where the orange-jumpsuit-guy showed wisdom that impressed two girls despite being a pure idiot over the past thirty minutes when the arguing in the hall got louder.

"What are you talking about?! I don't steal panties!"

"That's not what the cat and dragon girls said~"

"And for that you're facing justice, DEMOOOOOONN!"

"You're surrounded by demons, you idiot."

"Stop moving around so much and  **fight me**. It'll have all the body contact you want!"

"But I'm telling you I don't want that!"

Turmeric figured nothing too important was going on, so he went back to watching his program. Ooh, now the orange-jumpsuit-guy was getting all the ladies and making the previous males irrelevant! Ah, gotta love shounen progression...

His ears pricked again, but this time Turmeric felt something terrible. The noise had died down, but he panicked as he hobbled out of harm's way before a terrible wind spell sliced through where he had been sitting just moments ago. It smacked the TV and unplugged it from the wall.

Pissed, Turmeric scrambled from the couch, angrily yelling, "Hey,  _I was watching that_!"

"Baaaa!" The perpetrators, the mass of sheep-like demons that had been bothering Konoka, leered back at Turmeric, not giving a single damn about his self-insertion TV show.

"Yans?" Turmeric blinked, recognizing the creatures, just as two of them reared on their hind legs. "Aw  _fu_ —"

Even if he saw the comets coming, they still hit like flaming trucks.

* * *

"They're all insane!" the un-Konoka cried, clambering to the rooftops. "Why are they all insane?!" Too much going on, too much lunacy. And all of these people are lusting after Konoka? Okay, maybe that was an overstatement, but that's what it felt like! Thank goodness that there were only a few residents that could get to the top.

Looking about, the un-Konoka could see the red moon in much better clarity. With the tallest part of the tower no longer blocking her view, she could see around the entirety of the large castle—looking to be about the size of Mahora's main schools, now that she thought about it. Did Konoka really rule over this domain?

However, a voice cut through her wonder. "Fancy seeing you up here, Ms. Overlord."

The un-Konoka turned around, seeing Andras there, normally sharp features far more relaxed as she was imbibing sake. In this moonlight, Andras looked... far more familiar in her human form than she should have. Not even bothering to disguise her confusion, the un-Konoka asked, somewhat breathless, "Who are you?"

Andras turned towards Konoka and smirked, perhaps supplying an implied "really" in the un-Konoka's question. "I'm the same member of Ars Goetia, two thousand years running. Why, you mean a demon that upholds the law despite loving chaos can't exist?"

The un-Konoka thought for a moment, actually thinking in Konoka's recent memories, and remembered Andras. "...well, yeah."

That got a laugh from the crow demon. "Law is a set of rules you hold yourself by. Nobody ever said that they needed to be either abide by order or chaos." She stood up now. "I surely hope you see that. Chaos has its own benefits."

"Really?" The un-Konoka questioned, feeling tenser by the moment. "Like how?"

"Let me show you an art form, Ms. Overlord," the un-Konoka wasn't sure when it happened, but one moment, Andras looked almost serene. The next, her large, shining sword was already launching an attack. "Shinmeiryuu secret technique: Zantesuken!" In the blink of an eye, the un-Konoka found herself flipping over a sharp slicing attack meant to cut her cleanly in two. Wings at the ready, she plucked one feather from it and formed a thin energy blade, clashing with Andras's own sword.

"Shinmeiryuu? And with a broadsword?" The un-Konoka gasped.

"Shinmeiryuu techniques were made with fighting demons strongly and discreetly, without needing sharp blades—or so the humans believed." Andras answered. "In truth, I taught both humans and demons such techniques, just to see how they would develop it—with and against each other!" Andras swept forward again, slicing with her sword with practiced grace and power.

The un-Konoka hissed, guarding with her own blade and immediately pressed a counterattack, but her speed advantage was too weak. Andras always managed to guard just in time, and the moment the overlord let up, the greater demon would retaliate with one of her wide, sweeping blows. Figuring speed alone wouldn't do it, the un-Konoka drew upon her power.

"Shinmeiryuu secret technique..." The overlord hissed, spacing herself from Andras for just a moment. "Hiken: Hyakkaryouran!" And she launched herself forward, her energy blade a lightning whirl of flashes and slices.

Andras countered by deflecting every individual slash—except that at least one managed to knock her sword off balance, and the last blow actually knocked her sword out of her hands. The overlord pointed her sword at Andras's neck, signifying her victory.

Backing away in defeat, Andras picked up her sword. "It seems I am a bit rusty. I have not seriously used those moves in many years, a certain obnoxious Prinny K notwithstanding." She gazed in Konoka's direction. "You are terribly practiced with it, considering that your main means of attacking is usually high powered spells. I wonder how that is?"

The un-Konoka immediately realized her mistake—how was she supposed to hide herself if she kept using techniques Konoka wouldn't know? She covered her mouth in shock, trying to keep the little squeak from escaping, with minimal success.

Unfazed by this, however, Andras continued. "Interesting people always seem to pick up Shinmeiryuu techniques. I wonder if she still remembers."

"She?" the un-Konoka asked.

"Imamiah."

That name didn't mean too much to Setsuna, not at the moment. As the un-Konoka searched her normal memories, Andras continued, "Before Zegnant, she lived here, a long time ago. Her mother ruled this kingdom, and Imamiah herself was next in line. As a matter of fact, the majority of the Erinyes lived here."

About that time, though, Setsuna saw Konoka's memories of Imamiah: her attack, her ruthlessness, her kiss. The un-Konoka grimaced. "She wants her birthright back, doesn't she?"

"She may come from a lineage of lawful creatures, but Imamiah is a very ruthless person... or at least, she wants to be," Andras answered. "I saw it when I taught her those techniques." As Setsuna continued to think upon this information, however, Andras had more. "Indeed, even though Ars Goetia serves as half of Gehenna's ruling party, we cannot directly interfere with the ruling overlord or their family—not without them bothering us first. That day, a thousand years ago, Zegnant came through, with a frightening attack that slew half of the Erinyes and sent Imamiah and the rest on the run. As Ars Goetia was powerless to do anything about the change in rule, Imamiah came to turn her grudge against us as well. I suppose that, by the time you came around, I saw her logic in blaming us..." She sighed. "At this rate, there's no way she would forgive me, though."

"Why are you telling me all this?" The un-Konoka asked.

Andras seemed to scoff, but a light smile was on her face. "You know so little. Former human, with your human morals, will you still fight Imamiah, even knowing it is her rightful home?"

The un-Konoka frowned, head bowing low. Setsuna herself would love nothing more than to crush this terrible creature that sounded like her, that wanted Kono-chan the same way she did just minutes after meeting her. But this wasn't her decision to make. Or was it? Konoka was in danger from the Erinyes, and it looked like their grudge would throw the kingdom into chaos.

Swallowing hard, the un-Konoka rose to face Andras, face serious. "I'll do whatever it takes for this kingdom."

There seemed to be a gleam in Andras's eye. "With words like that, perhaps there is a heart of evil within you yet."

"Wait a second! Ko—err I'm not evil!" the un-Konoka reeled back.

"That young overlord earlier today is correct—there  _is_  a heart of evil within you. You'll need it if you want to survive Imamiah." Andras grinned. "You may yet be the right overlord who can bring life to this place again!" And for the first time in maybe years, the crow demon laughed.

"Nooooo!" the un-Konoka howled.

That turned out to be a very bad thing to do. Seconds later, bouncing out of one of the stairwells, came Overlord Priere. "Found you now!" That grin of hers was still terribly menacing. " _Fight me_ , overlord!"

Tailing right after her was Flonne. "Hey Konoka! Is it true that you toss a mean salad?"

"Are you sure you never touched Arika's panties?" Nagi, noticeably calmer but still caught up in the excitement, showed up.

"Flonne, stop asking stupid questions and get her to calm down!" That would be Laharl.

"Get away! All of you!" the un-Konoka immediately flapped her wings, flying off, with the odd acting residents hot on her tail.

"Hey, you jerks!" From out of nowhere, Beryl sailed onto the scene, joining the tail end of the silly chase. "Leave Konoka alone!"

That left Andras alone again, sipping her sake once more, as if nothing happened. Well, almost nothing. "Was that your fate? I'd never thought I'd see your soul in someone else's body." Andras looked up wistfully to the sky. "If I weren't on Ars Goetia... or such a scatterbrain, maybe I could have been a proper mother to you."

* * *

"Gaaaahhh..." Meanwhile, a painstruck Turmeric crawled towards the TV. The Yans finally having left him alone, he saw that the TV had taken a hit, but still looked otherwise fine. He turned it back on.

"What?" Much to Turmeric's surprise, the orange jumpsuit guy had been brutally murdered, and two girls, who had previously been close before the orange-jumpsuit man had interrupted them, were now kissing and making up—on top of his corpse.

"But the orange-jumpsuit guy was  _so cool_!" Turmeric complained. "But girl on girl is hot.  _So confusing_..." Ah well, can't win them all.

* * *

"Again...!" Nagi groaned, nursing a familiar red handprint on his cheek.

"My beautiful face is ruined!" Etna moaned. "Arrggh, you're going to pay for this! I don't just spread rumors for the laughs you know (though they do play a big part)!"

Arika, leering down at the defeated duo, scowled, though she did look pretty wary. "I'm sorry, and I know I'm a subordinate now, but I am only allowed to tolerate so much stupid at once." She did cast a glance at Laharl.

Laharl, to his credit, kept his face neutral. "I'll let you get away with it. They had it coming. Speaking of which, since you started that bum rumor about me dying around the time those prinnies went making your ultra dessert, what the hell, Etna?!"

"You were out of town for a good while, Prince. No need for some upstart demons thinking they can take over your turf while you were gone, right?" Etna stood up again. "Better to cause a little chaos and see who the upstarts are now instead of letting them get any clout, huh?"

"Hn. Whatever," Laharl crossed his arms. "Obviously that overlord won't talk right now, no matter how much force we chase her with. We're going back to that crazy fallen angel." By now, the red moon had subsided, and the morning sun was poking somewhere between the clouds. He stared up into the sky, recognizing the Sagen as it rowed above them.

"No lovey-dovey goodbye to Flonne?" Etna teased.

"Before the red moon business, you were talking to her a lot," Arika added.

"Shove it, Etna."

* * *

When Konoka came to the next morning, she wasn't in her room. The morning rays poking into the castle seemed especially strong, and she felt more air than normal. However, she was laying someplace surprisingly comfortable.

"Are you okay, Konoka-san?" asked a soft voice.

Konoka shot up, looking about in wild confusion. No wonder things felt strange—she was not inside at all, but rather on the rooftop gardens. How had this happened? Only a moment later, when she realized she wasn't alone, did her gaze fall on Satsuki. The girl had apparently been her lap pillow. "Satsuki-chan!"

The cook sighed in apparent relief. "It's you."

"Me?" Konoka blinked. "What do you mean?" Her thoughts tried to recall what happened last night, after that painful ruling. She went to cry in her covers, and then she fell asleep... then the castle was red. She gasped as she could suddenly recall other things, such as using her feathers like swords, fighting off Priere and Andras, and an apology...

"Secchan..." Konoka murmured.

"I don't know or understand how it happened, but you were acting a lot like Sakurazaki-san last night," Satsuki said. She wasn't sure if she should tell Konoka that she ultimately knew this only because of the trip to Konoka's heart.

"So Secchan..." Konoka murmured. "She left me this gift. This is why..." It explained the gaps in her memories, and how she seemed to intrinsically know things, such as why Konoka was forced to take her life three years ago. "I feel her. Right here, in my heart."

Satsuki smiled. "I guess that's one way of putting it."

Konoka returned her smile. "Suddenly, I feel a whole lot better."

Satsuki huffed. "You might want to give her some pointers. She doesn't adjust well to the other residents of the castle. At the very least, though, Raspberyl-san managed to make it easy for me to find you, and keep everyone else off your back."

"Eh?" Konoka gasped. But then she remembered half of the castle was chasing her before the sun rose, so naturally Satsuki had a point. "Well, I guess I can keep that in mind. I mean, I have to thank her somehow—she's the only reason I can keep smiling." A beat. "And you, of course."

While Satsuki had expected Konoka wouldn't let go so easily, she looked mildly surprised at Konoka's comment. A lot of people commented on her sage advice or her excellent cooking, but it was rare someone actually said they kept her smiling. And for it to come from Konoka... wait, why was she blushing? "Thank you."

A flash of light shot up from behind them. Both girls looked up to see a thin light burst from the castle. A ship, which looked akin to a white and green ark made of marble, flew by, catching the light on its underside before disappearing above the circle of clouds. Konoka sobered immediately—that was likely the other overlord leaving, reminding her of that mandate. "A heart of evil, huh?"

"Konoka-san?" Satsuki questioned.

"She said if I'm to resist Imamiah, I have to have a heart of evil..." Konoka murmured. "And Lunzard told me that if I'm to be an overlord, then I must have the presence of one, however unusual. Maybe those things are the same." Konoka murmured. "I don't want to be truly evil, but if I hold the presence of a heart of evil..."

"Konoka-san," Satsuki interrupted. She placed her hands on Konoka's shoulders. "Promise me this."

"Eh?"

"Promise me that, whatever happens, you don't sacrifice yourself. Konoka-san, please stay you, no matter what." There was a sense of urgency in her voice, unheard of in the normally unflappable cook.

Konoka blinked at her request. What could she do? But she did smile. "I promise. My heart... the deepest part, won't change." After all, it felt like she had Setsuna's help now.

It took a moment, but Satsuki nodded, satisfied. "I know it won't be easy now, but I can tell you're earnest. So how were you going to deal with your task, though?"

Konoka smiled. "I know how."

* * *

"Oh Lunzard~"

"What is it?!" For once, Lunzard wasn't deep within his lab. The busy mad mechanic was in the armory, overlooking a large map of the castle. Markings of several areas could be seen flashing through the map—only by looking closely did Konoka see that the map was actually electronic. But in any case, the perpetually irate mechanic whirled to her, annoyed as usual. "What is it—oh, you actually look remotely serious! I'll overlook your egregious idiocy this one time and hear you out."

"This is of utmost importance," Konoka said gravely, Satsuki by her side. "I would not be here if it were just something simple."

"Then what is it?!"

Not even bothered by Lunzard's impatience, Konoka took a slow and deep breath. "Lunzard-han. I want you to teach me how to have a heart of evil!"

* * *

Deep within the annals of Eva's resort, late into its night cycle, Negi was stewing.

In the three years that had passed since his first adventures, ending with the showdown with Cosmo Entelecheia and Konoka's terrifying disappearance, Negi and Ala Alba hadn't made the strides they wanted. Even with Eva's freedom and Asuna's return, there were still missing pieces. Where was Negi's father? His mother? What happened three years ago, and why had Cygnus chosen to move with them despite his involvement? Would Ala Alba be strong enough to fight the coming challenges? What about Konoka, and the mysteries surrounding her?

Even now, Negi was busy scribbling down plans, working with Asuna on how to solve the (now slowly) impending crisis of the Magic World. Thoughts of all these things tended to swarm him, so he took to writing it down, before it could overpower him.

Of course, Negi was so busy, it was very easy for a vampire to get the jump on him.

"You're losing it, boy," Evangeline's voice cut through.

Between the first two syllables of Eva's speech, Negi went from busy boy, to an electrified, battle-ready beast. "M-master?! Please don't scare me like that!"

The diminutive vampire laughed. "I see that a few years hasn't really toned down that worrywart in you. You're gonna have to drop it if you want to be strong enough to beat whatever's in your way for Konoka."

"And the magic world issue, though Asuna's doing just fine," Negi added. "In the time I've been putting my ear out to the world, now that the girls and I can move at our own pace regarding education, I haven't really heard much. Asuna says CE's kept their eyes and ears open, but no new developments there either. If we don't get results soon, they might start putting their plans back in action, too."

Evangeline sighed, shaking her head. "You still worry too much about too many things at once. No wonder the nerd demon got the better of you," She looked up at him. "Then again, it's not you if you're not obsessing and worrying over some detail or another. It certainly keeps you sharp, at least."

Negi actually smiled at that. Then the smile disappeared as Eva was taking the moment of massaging his arm, as if prepping to bite it, or something more seductive. "Um, master..."

"Oh why not?" Evangeline purred. She peeked down at his pants, and this time there was a tent. "Ah, I see at least one thing changed..."

Negi's cheeks flushed. He hated puberty.

" _Oooh_ , you're touching him inappropriately! Can I watch?"

Evangeline snarled, stopping her seductive antics and immediately flew over, smashing an icy hammer into the face of Mao, the silly demon that had made that comment. "Get lost, creep-for-brains!"

Mao sailed into the ground, tumbling from the hit... before recovering almost instantly, ignoring the bruise on the bridge of his nose. "Mwahahahaaa! This coming from a vampire harassing a boy one fiftieth her age? At the very least I can admit you've got more style than I do!"

Evangeline crossed her arms and turned up her nose, "I'm not even going to grace you with any more responses."

"Easy for you to say, but my words are for Negi, since he's the one who calls most of the shots," Mao said, adjusting his glasses. "So, glorious demon hero, I have news that we're going to have to speed our plans a little bit. I've got word that someone wants Konoka very _dangerously_ , and most unfortunately it is  _not_  the ghost of her lover."

"What?" Negi was at attention.

"You act like this is surprising," Evangeline drolly commented.

"Well, no, but I didn't expect it so soon!"

"Normally that's not even news, but it seems like this dangerous suitor knew an old foe of mine," Mao explained. "Which means she's quite up there on the power scale, and judging by the panic in which I heard this, I have no idea how much time we're working with. To that end, we need to be hauling off to the Netherworld, ASAP!"

Negi clenched his teeth, his face etched in consternation. "Will we have to sneak out again? I don't want to leave them behind, but if speed is an issue, and they've been wanting to focus so they can graduate not too far behind everyone else..."

"You fool, they'll kill you if you sneak out again," Evangeline tersely supplied, despite the menacing grin on her face.

"And make you their sex slave," Mao supplied helpfully. He got Evangeline's foot in his face as a reward.

Evangeline had a point, even though he was certain Eva would be the one killing him first. As he watched Mao suffer for his perversion, though, he thought back to the rest of Ala Alba. He could handle the Netherworld, but could they? "Mao-san. Be honest. Can the entirety of Ala Alba handle the Netherworld?"

Eva stopped stomping him long enough for him to quickly flip back on his feet. After a moment, Mao answered. "Not  _quite_."

Negi frowned. It looked like he might have to shoulder it alone.

Mao grinned deviously, as if he saw that coming. "...but that's why all of you need to come to Evil Academy. Get  _field experience_  so to speak. My lab, equipped with things to make EXPERIMENTS on has nothing to do with that reason."

Negi and Eva gave him a look. "Very suspicious."

Mao gave yet another wide grin. "Pack your bags, children!  _You're coming over to MY house_!"

**X-X-X**

_From The Ozonne Database_

**Name:**  Konoka Konoe

 **Age:**  18

 **Gender:**  Female

 **Class:**  Gehenna's Infant Overlord (MAIN CHARACTER)

 **Notable Characteristics:**  Your average Japanese beauty converted into a white tail demon... or is it dragon? Nobody's sure yet. Very friendly despite all that's happened to her. And really likes girls.

 **Affiliation:**  Gehenna (Queen), Former Mahora Academy Student, Former Ala Alba (Medic)

 **Background:**  Born to the wealthy Konoe estate, Konoka's youngest childhood years were spent largely alone. Only when the Shinmeiryuu introduced Setsuna did Konoka have a first friend. They got along well, but an incident where Konoka nearly drowned and Setsuna tried to save her marred it—if only because Setsuna wanted to be stronger.

Konoka was still oblivious to magic, and remained that way through most of her school life. Luckily she earned many more friends, including the then converted Asuna. Only after meeting Negi Springfield, and a return trip to Kyoto, did she find out the secret of the masquerade. Having great latent power, she was targeted and then kidnapped by Chigusa Amagasaki, to revive a demon god. Thanks to Negi and Setsuna, no longer hiding, she was rescued, and her friendship with Setsuna was restored. The yuri fanboys were not correct just yet.

Her time building up on magic and hanging closer to Setsuna gave birth to her feelings, cemented over time and tribulation from festival, and then that fateful trip to the magic world. Feelings so strong that, when Setsuna confronted Tsukuyomi and was on the edge of losing, Konoka interfered. She was stabbed for her effort, and fell off the Gravekeeper's palace. Acting as a nexus, the Gravekeeper's Palace happened to have its Dimensional Gate aiming at Gehenna, where Konoka fell through...

Three years later, due to circumstances unknown, Konoka has recovered from a heavy sleep. Body altered as a demon, she is now Gehenna's overlord.

 **Abilities:** Konoka is gifted with a great holy power, which means she can smite you six ways to Sunday despite being a demon. What's even more fun is that she can heal you six ways to Sunday as well, thanks to her training and an ability that heals allies and hurts enemies with any holy-based technique. She may look nice and not strong for a demon, but she can still render the average human paste. Every now and then, shows signs of an unusual mental or spiritual disorder, which includes terribly wrong symptoms such as the ability to use Shinmeiryuu techniques, excellent swordplay, and lamenting the state of 'ojou-sama'.

 **Evility:**  Amaterasu's Madness: All special techniques heal allies and hurt enemies regardless of elemental affiliation.

_No secret side files for you yet. Sorry~_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Mwahahaha, I've got more where that came from. As mentioned before, earlier chapters may undergo minor editing, and I've already redone the prologue. Also, because of the huge character list and not everyone wanting their lives consumed by TVTropes, I've decided to add character bios. 
> 
> ...you can also visit here to see certain snippets and discuss and speculate! (remember to replace dots and slashes): http:(double slash) z13 dot invisionfree dot com slash Ala_Iridia slash index dot php?showtopic=9


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Konoka takes the time to learn evilness. Surely coming across a dark secret won't deter her much, right?

"Lunzard-han. I want you to teach me how to have a heart of evil!"

There was a long pause. In that time, Lunzard seemed to stare hard at Konoka, as if trying to see if there was some sort of joke he was missing. Surely, this friendly, chirping little overlord was joking, right? She could practically hear the whirring somewhere on his person.

Then he laughed. "Dooohohohohoho!  _You_  want to learn how to be evil?"

"I'm serious!" Konoka added petulantly.

"Oh wait, you're serious?" Lunzard stopped, as if he hadn't heard that declaration. "Let me laugh even harder. DOOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHO!"

Konoka pouted.

Satsuki, who had been there, glared at the mad scientist. "I would appreciate if you at least gave her advice."

"Yes, you promised!" Konoka pointed out.

Lunzard paused. Satsuki's glare seemed to radiate a dangerous aura, so much that it even caught him by surprise. "Hn. W-well." He glanced at Konoka. "At the very least, you should understand what matters most—a  _presence_  of evil. I think I've mentioned it before, but now you'll get to see some practice." He got up from his desk and walked further into his lab. She hadn't been paying too much attention to it before, but Konoka forgot just how vast this place was. The place seemed to be a massive dome that seemed to span the entire length of the castle. The various areas almost reminded her of a city, albeit filled with machines and robots.

Speaking of the robots, Lunzard pointed to them. "BEHOLD! All the robots I design, regardless of their intent, have something in common. They intimidate. They send tiny little beams into your eyes that tell you that they are eeeevil, and not to be trifled with. Even something as bulky as the Chefbot-9000 has a basic intimidation factor."

"Intimidation factor, huh..." Konoka murmured. She then puffed her chest. "Is it something like this?" And she showed the other two the most menacing smile she could muster.

"Ummm..." Satsuki blinked. "Do we have context?"

"You are going the entirely wrong direction," Lunzard was not impressed. "What are you trying to do, act like a superhero?"

"But superheroes are intimidating, aren't they?" Konoka questioned.

"To other evils! You must be intimidating to everyone!"

"But then you'll have no friends, let alone vassals!"

Lunzard massaged his scalp, trying to tone down the terrible frustration that gripped him. He went about this the wrong way, and considering Konoka's normal demeanor... "Guuugh, intimidation and fear are the main things, but they aren't the  _only_  things!"

"Once again," Satsuki asked. "Do we have context? Konoka-san is capable, but she won't do it on a whim, or just to be evil." This actually had Konoka stop and clap.

Lunzard paused, looking back at Satsuki. He too frequently forgot that, despite her lack of power, she was a fairly rational person. Pity that only Konoka would listen to her. He paused for a bit, then looked at both girls. "Perhaps I'm going about this the wrong way. Why don't the both of you hear about what these other silly residents have to say? As worthless as they are compared to me, maybe one of them will resonate, and you can have enough common sense to hopefully avoid dooming the world to stupid."

"Huh, I guess so!" Konoka could agree with that. "C'mon, Satsuki-chan! Maybe someone else might work!"

"Um, okay," the cook reluctantly agreed, taking pace behind the chipper and somewhat airheaded overlord.

"But  _don't you forget_ ," Lunzard immediately pointed a finger in Konoka's direction, face stern, "when it comes to having a robot army, NO ONE builds better demon robots than I do!"

"Ah, don't you worry! I'll be back when I'm ready for your robots to wreak havoc~" Konoka skipped away, Satsuki closely following her.

* * *

"Hey, Anise-han?"

"What is it? You're annoying." From the sound of things, Anise was in a bad mood. Right now, Konoka and Satsuki had moved to the lower library, where the scowling mage was once again exploring books.

"What do you think I need to have a heart of evil?"

A pause. Anise looked Konoka over. "Looking less generic, for one thing."

"Eh?" Konoka blinked.

"Without your tail and horns, you look terribly generic." Anise asserted. "You need to stand out before you become evil. Heck, even your beauty is generic!"

"That's not nice!" Konoka complained. Satsuki, in the meantime, wondered how beauty could be generic.

"Don't pay her any mind, she's just mad because she missed the prince yesterday!" Konoka and Satsuki heard Lucas call out, somewhere further in the library.

"Shut up, you!" Anise shot back. In a puff of pink smoke, she became a cat, and immediately rushed off to the back of the library to confront Lucas. Moments later, bangs, crashes, magical explosions, and the yowls of an angry cat were heard, proving Lucas right.

Konoka blinked. "...well..." She did keep that in mind.

* * *

Considering that she had been out for so many chapters, T'ifr was not expecting to be asked about much anything, and remained speechless. Concerned, Satsuki asked, "Is that worrisome?"

The huge demon shook her head. "Not at all. It's simply... unexpected that you would approach someone like me for such a thing."

Konoka thought about it. Just because she had been drawn to her from Kyoto didn't mean she had been evil. As a matter of fact, recalling something, the multitude of demons had basically agreed with Chigusa that her friends were not to be killed that night. Still, thinking back to Chigusa, she shivered.

"If it's fear and respect you want, you'll need an appropriate look," T'ifr said, bowing down and looking over at Konoka. "You can certainly command respect, from what I've seen of you, but you look too young."

"Too young?" Konoka blinked. Another thought passed. "But I can't help that! I haven't been a demon for very long!"

Some laughter cut through the conversation. "I believe the correct term she is looking for is 'childish'."

Konoka felt the tiny hairs on her neck tingle in a way she could only describe as "spider senses". Fitting, because a moment later, she felt webbing encircle her, binding her arms behind her. Konoka was lifted into the air with a terrified squeak, much to the amusement of the woman responsible.

"Ooh, the way you squeal like that is so cute! It's a pity that you and the cook are definitely not dating, or I'd take you myself," Konoka looked down to see the cheery spider woman Yui. Decked in what she could consider a old-style school girl outfit, her abductor looked at her brightly.

"Please do not insinuate our relationship in sarcastic terms," Satsuki said to the spidery senator, her voice oddly like poisoned honey. "Konoka-san and I are not like that. And let her go."

Yui gasped dramatically. "You aren't? What a shame! You two are together and saving each other more often than not. Well then, I suppose you don't mind if I take her on a date then?"

As Konoka finally managed to break free of the bindings thanks to her tail, she nearly crashed on the floor from shock. "W-what?! Date?!" She shakily recovered. "I'm not sure..." Konoka murmured, wary of such things not only because of the late Setsuna, but if her quiet look to her ministra was of any note, the present Satsuki as well.

"It's all up to Konoka-san," Satsuki said coolly. Only the faintest of blushes gave any indication Yui's invitation had any effect.

Seeing Konoka hesitate, Yui switched her strategy. "Hmmm, why not go for an evil makeover? It'll get you one step closer to a heart of evil."

That, however got Konoka's interest. She always liked shopping for clothes, at least. "Now  _that_  I can get behind—I haven't gone shopping in forever!"

"I at least want to see this," Satsuki said resolutely.

"I knew you'd see things my way~!" Yui chirped, clapping. Almost immediately, she commanded, "T'ifr, we're going to Rosen Queen Co. Department Store. The small store here won't cut it!"

A deep and understanding nod came from the large demon. "As you wish," The moment she completed her graceful bow, she whipped up one fierce fist and punched a spatial rift open between the dimensional gate's shell, activating it. As she withdrew her fist, T'ifr spoke. "The pathway is open."

Konoka still wondered how she did it.

* * *

Rosen Queen Co. was the massive conglomerate company that sold the majority of demon goods. As far as Gehenna was concerned, if the laws didn't say they couldn't sell it, they sold it (and hell, sometimes they had a hand in a few black markets). Nobody knew who actually ran Rosen Queen, but the company had good customer service most of the time so people never bothered. The company had first focused on selling weapons and armor often used by the humanoid demons, but had since expanded their business, mostly because making money was the best prerogative.

When it came down to it, though, Rosen Queen was best known for its weaponry, armor, and clothing, and that's what the trio was here for.

Well, Konoka did have fun, shopping about and finding nice casual clothes, but now that it came to picking out her evil suit, she was perpetually stuck in the changing room.

"Any good overlord needs style!" Yui commented, bringing a stack of several outfits. "And for that style to stand out!"

"Those look nice and all, but I wanted to shop around some more...!" Konoka said.

"Nonsense!" Yui dismissed. "Now, let's start with the gothic lolita look!" And she gave Konoka a black dress, bordered with white frills, flowery stockings, and shoes.

As Konoka moved to get the stuff on, she noted Yui was still staring. "Are you trying to get a free look on me?"

"Drat, you saw right through me." Yui snapped her fingers in an overly dramatic fashion.

"I'm not convinced that's sarcasm," Konoka murmured as she shut the curtains on the other woman's face. Moments later, she appeared, dressed in it. "Feels nice, but..."

"Oh, that's nice!" The black-haired spider woman clapped.

Satsuki, further back, added, "Not bad."

Konoka twirled in her dress, pleased from their praise. "Not bad, huh?"

Yui looked closer, her expression switching to a thoughtful frown. "Not bad, but not good enough. Your body is too healthy to suit that look."

"Too healthy?!" Konoka reeled back. A pause. "Wait, does that mean something perverted?"

"Says the girl-loving panty thief?" Yui countered. "Anyway, let's try something else." She swiped the gothic dress and came back with something else, coming with a much more elaborate, vampirish, and very blue dress. "Try this."

Konoka had a bit more difficulty pulling that on, but put it on she did. "Very pretty!" A twirl. "Tough to move in, though. Style's useless if you can't move pretty too." From a moment of thinking, she also remembered the senator Rozalin. "Well, someone can, but it's not me."

"Ah, so you  _are_  thinking in practicality," Yui grinned. "In that case, the opposite direction, then." She was off again. Konoka sighed, and began to work off that behemoth dress. However, just as she succeeded, Yui was back, bringing...

"A suit?" Konoka blinked. Something inside her panged, as if she could remember an excitement that wasn't her own. Setsuna liked wearing boyish suits...

"Perhaps you can get into the  _business_  of evil instead of the theatrics." Yui suggested, as Konoka slipped into the suit. To her surprise, it felt comfortable—if a bit tight. This clash of opinions within herself made her falter as the spider woman looked on. "Or maybe you just might be confused for a reverse trap."

"A reverse what?" Satsuki blinked.

"Girl that looks like a pretty boy."

"Ah."

"I'm not sure if I want to go that route," Konoka said. "Feels strangely good, though."

"All right, NEXT!" Yui once again pulled the clothes away with ridiculous speed the moment Konoka left them, and came back with more clothes of evil. By now, the overlord was in the groove, and managed to quickly put on this next suit. Except...

Labored breath escaped the heavy mask Konoka wore. "I can't breathe!" Konoka whined, but even that sounded haunting and despairing. The labored breath grew louder and more urgent, and Satsuki might have been frightened had Konoka not being flailing and wheezing like an old man too far from his oxygen tank. So while she sounded scary, Konoka unfortunately looked stupid.

Yui sighed, smacking her palm to her face.

Konoka threw off the mask. "No! This is not how I like this!" She said. "Let me out! I wanna go shopping myself!"

"No, you must try this on!" Insisted the chipper spider woman, bringing in her next costume.

"No way, there's too many spikes on it!" Konoka protested. But unfortunately, Yui was faster, and Konoka found herself in the rather tacky suit.

"That doesn't really suit you at all..." Yui murmured, examining the dominatrix-like suit all over.

"That's what I said!" Konoka said, trying not to poke at the armor at her side.

"Onward to something else!" Yui screeched, and went off to go find another costume.

Konoka sighed as she removed the terrible suit, and peeked outside just to make sure Satsuki was all right. "Satsuki-chan?" She called out.

A glance around the wide areas of the store didn't reveal her just yet. Instead, she spotted what looked like heavy, white armor with gold outlines and a thinly spiky gold crest. Something deep in her mind stirred.

She could imagine nightmarish blue eyes looking at her from the visor. The thought of it filled her with pain—from that alone, she knew her memories were dredging up the previous overlord, Zegnant.

She shook herself, not wanting to think of that man further.

Her friend in question was now talking to a rather animated humanoid demon, a girl wearing armored pants and a thick belt like a sports bra. If she squinted hard enough, she could see small curved horns a little above and behind her ears in her short, green hair. As if just noticing her calling out, Satsuki turned around and waved. The new person made an apologetic gesture before scampering off, and Satsuki came over to Konoka. "Are you all right? Yui has been at this for a while now."

"Yeah!" Konoka chirped, before taking a sigh. "Just a little tired, is all. It's a bit more exhausting than I thought. I'm still not feeling the evil makeover. I don't know if it's worth anything."

"Don't worry so much about it," Satsuki said. "Maybe you can think of something later." Like perhaps, dropping this evil business altogether.

"I suppose you're right," Konoka said, a small smile on her face. A moment of silence was between them. However, Konoka's ear twitched as she heard the pitter-patter of giant spider legs.

Yui was back, now letting her extra limbs carry her faster. "I think I've got something good this time."

Konoka, somewhat skeptical, looked at the bundle Yui now held. "Really?"

"Try it."

And slowly, she took the bundle and slipped back inside the dressing room.

As she was changing, Satsuki turned to Yui. "What are you guys aiming for?" Satsuki was not a very paranoid person at all, but the way Ars Goetia had been talking to Konoka lately, it bothered her for some reason. And it wasn't just the imaginary crush they perceived she had on Konoka.

Yui shrugged. "Who knows?" She turned to Satsuki. "Awfully odd for you to ask now. Are you sure you're not just being overprotective? I'm not here as Ars Goetia, you know. I do this for my own amusement."

"So you say," Satsuki said, though she oddly felt relief. Ars Goetia was already effective at bullying Konoka during court, if they bothered her outside, there might be little she could do. She was normally above such petty emotions, but the cook couldn't help but feel irritated about this.

Those thoughts flew out the window when Konoka stepped out. Satsuki's eyes widened. Yui furrowed her brow, a highly sharp grin on her face. "I never knew it was THIS good."

Konoka was wearing a kimono once more—however, it lacked any covering of her shoulders, and her sleeves were detached. The top half of her kimono was black, the bottom apparently decorated like white flames, with slits showing off stocking-covered legs. Her platform sandals were still on. The edges looked somewhat frayed and frilly, giving her a fairly wraith-like look. She carried herself slowly, as if going through a funeral procession.

It chilled Satsuki to the bone.

Struck with one last idea, Yui slung a web and grabbed a small umbrella, then tossed it to Konoka. "Pose with that."

The overlord seemed confused as she caught it, but gently opened it and lifted one hand until it shaded her face slightly. Her eyes seemed to glow from the shade of both it and the bangs of her hair.

Satsuki stared. "Konoka-san?" she ventured. Was she even Konoka any more?

At once, Konoka squealed in delight, hopping up and down! "Finally, I got it! I love this!" That chilling effect she had earlier was completely lost to her usual cheery self, and that made Satsuki blink, then sigh in relief. "It's comfortable, easy to run in and it's overlord spooky!"

"Glad you think so!" Yui crowed. " _Let's buy it_."

* * *

And so they returned back to Gehenna itself later that day. Konoka, Satsuki, and Yui stepped back into the Gate Terminus, alongside another demon. T'ifr shut the gate, and came to look at the overlord. "Ah, you look wonderfully evil, Ms. Overlord. It sets my heart aflutter."

"Thank you!" Konoka made a hasty bow, now not so certain she wanted that as a compliment.

"I'm sure, now that you've got a little more confidence, you can get to work on a heart of evil," Yui declared. "It really is a dashing look for you!"

"I suppose!" Konoka handily agreed.

"Do you know what would make that look even more dashing?"

"What?"

One moment Konoka was staring at Yui with a usual blank smile, the next she found herself dangling in the air, her hands, arms, knees, and ankles yet again bound by webbing. "Waaaahh!" She struggled, trying to get free.

Satsuki, who had been mostly quiet up until now, was struggling to suppress a nosebleed, and she still had no idea why.

"I was right! You look even more adorable when you're helpless like this!" Yui said. "Maybe one of these days I'll get you to start  _liking_  it. Toodles~" And Yui slung her webs to run away.

"Eeuugghhh! You'll pay for this, spider-woman!" Konoka cried, still flailing around in her bonds.

While she had been stunned from Yui's sudden getaway, T'ifr did finally notice that there was a fourth person there, currently wallowing in her own pity. It was the same green-haired demon that Satsuki had been talking to earlier. "Aiyah..." she sighed. "...broke again..."

"Umm. Who are you?" T'ifr asked, leering down on her.

The stranger paused, as if caught in headlights. "Eh?" She looked around, at the struggling overlord, the cook trying to help her, but mostly at the complete change in setting. "We're not in Rosen Queen anymore?"

"Yeah. It's closed now."

"EEEEEHHHHHH?!"

* * *

"Not a bad look for you," Lunzard said, stroking his handlebar mustache. "Perhaps you'll gain the maturity to back it up."

"I see," Konoka said.

Lunzard took a moment to pull up a sheet of paper, and handed it to Konoka.

"What's this?" The overlord asked, taking it.

"A list of EEEEVIL things to do. It must come natural to you before you're ready to deal with the likes of the other overlords!" He declared. "Demons listen to power first, but charisma and fear come at a very close second! And we currently know that, for all of your power, you can't consistently wield it. And for that, we must build you a reputation that has nothing to do with that power."

"Oh~," Konoka nodded in understanding. Lunzard knew how to help when he really wanted to! "Well, I'm off!"

"Wait a minute!" Lunzard called, but Konoka skipped off before his words could register. He sighed. "Maybe I'm actually being paranoid for once. She can't be that incompetent at the simple tasks I put there, right?"

* * *

Satsuki, from the time she could actually carry a conversation, always heard from her mother, "Always keep a cool head. No matter what."

"What's a cool head mean?" Her younger self had asked then.

"It means to never panic, and always keep your thoughts under control. When you see things as they are, it's a lot easier to solve problems." Her mother had giggled as the then young Satsuki climbed up the stepstool to watch her cook.

It was something she always took to heart for most of her life. It didn't make things necessarily easy for her, but it allowed her to always take the most logical and straightforward approach to nearly anything. As such, she was content with life, and many people around her applauded her down to earth personality.

That all changed last year.

Mahora had been her ticket to a legendary culinary arts school. Naturally she had been a shoo-in, but someone else very close to her talent and much needier wound up winning. Satsuki was much smarter than to stake everything on a scholarship, but at her current rate, she'd be unable to afford much outside of high school. She put a lot of work for that, even though somehow, it failed.

She wouldn't let that bother her, right?

Opting to hone her trade, she retreated to a personal vacation home—only to face abduction by Sir Sweet. Despite this setback, she wouldn't let that get to her, considering he respected her talents. She would bide her time and find a way to free herself.

But Konoka changed all that. Saving her all those times had filled her with strange emotions she did not expect to experience. No, she knew what they were—but how, or better yet, why—evaded her. Even now, as she was preparing a late snack for the busy overlord, Satsuki couldn't help but wonder why she felt so... drawn to her more than she had anyone else. Maybe she might find out as she brought over her plate. "Here, Konoka-san." She noted that Konoka looked somewhat concerned.

"Thanks," Konoka said, taking a moment to examine her food. "By the way, what are these?" She ate one, enjoying it immensely. "They're good."

"They're called hushpuppies," Satsuki answered.

"Ah!" she said after swallowing one. A beat. "Ooh! I can check that off my list!"

"List?" Satsuki asked.

Konoka, after marking something, handed it over to Satsuki. The cook, looking it over, began to read select portions of it out loud, albeit low enough in volume that Konoka barely heard her. "List of things Evil Overlords should and should not do." Okay... "As a person who must have a heart of evil, I must be willing to do things like the following, when practicality implies. Eat puppies. Burn orphanages. Extort people." She turned to Konoka. "Ummm..."

"Well, I ate hushpuppies. Those are puppies, right? This list isn't so bad after all!" Konoka said. "Thanks, Satsuki-chan!"

"I have no idea if you're just that innocent or just that shrewd." Satsuki deadpanned. When Konoka flashed her an innocent looking smile, Satsuki turned away, trying to hide a blush on her cheeks. It was likely some quasi-combination of both.

* * *

"What. Are. You doing?" Lunzard asked tersely, as he came across Konoka the next day.

"Burning orphanages," Konoka said casually.

First thing out of Lunzard's mouth: "Is there a practical reason for this?"

"This room is cold! We need firewood!"

"Did you really burn an orphanage, or  _did you label an old wooden storehouse as an orphanage before burning it_?" Lunzard accused.

"But you didn't say what kind of orphanage to burn! Why waste time traumatizing innocent children when I can do something practical?" Konoka asked, a clueless smile on her face.

Lunzard smacked his face to his palm. "That's not why you burn orphanages, you fool. Intimidate! Intimidation!"

"Uweehh..." Konoka sighed, feeling terribly uncooperative.

Sinister chuckling interrupted their conversation. "I see our overlord is busy being... incompetent, as usual." A swirling mass of sand appeared, forming into the black cloak and rotting snout of the obvious King of Dust.

Despite the usual frightening chill, Konoka merely crossed her arms. "Well excuuuuse me, Grimdark McEvilBreath!"

"At least your quips are sharp," Lunzard added as an aside. "Maybe you might pin yourself a theme song before the week's out."

"Why let her bother," the King said smoothly, despite his cacophony of voices. "I've already got a song that suits her." A beat. "Hem hem."

"You're going to sing me a song?" Konoka asked.

"Hem hem?" Lunzard asked.

" _Shut up and let me sing it_ ," the King of Dust glared fiercely at Lunzard, but it didn't seem to have any effect. Satisfied that there wouldn't be any more interruptions, the King tapped a finger to a beat, and suddenly his voices became one smooth, sinister baritone.

" _You're not a mean one... Ms. Konoe. You really are a heaaaaall._

" _You're as vicious as a kitten, you're as vile as a baby seal, Ms. Kono~e!"_

"You're a used car salesman with a... _squeaky clean deeeeaaaal!"_

"I dunno about the lyrics, they sound like veiled insults," Konoka said. "But the voice is pretty cool!"

"Are you implying that the insults are veiled?" Lunzard asked, raising a critical eyebrow.

" _You're a delinquent... Ms. Konoe. You're a demon with a shining soouuuull~!"_

" _You've got unicorns in the brain, you've got rainbows in your soul, Ms. Kono~e!"_

"Nobody would touch you with a... _42 and a third meter pooooooole!"_

"Are these supposed to be insults...?" Konoka said.

"Of  _course_  not!" Lunzard snapped back, but the thick sarcasm was lost on Konoka. "Back where he comes from, demons totally have souls, let alone shiny ones filled with light."

" _You nauseate me, Ms. Konoe. Your evil is weaker than a moldy box!_

" _You have all the terrible menace of a clean pair of socks, Ms. Kono~e!"_

"If I had to hire a sidekick and it was between you and a gimmick rival from a children's show,  _I'd choose Swiper the Foooox!"_

"Awww man!" Konoka complained. "I really am being insulted!"

"And the last horse crosses the finish line," Lunzard sighed.

"You hush!" Konoka countered.

"Personally, I think it's very suiting," the King of Dust said in a nonchalant fashion. "Watching you struggle to commit such basic evils as eating puppies... how pathetic."

"Basic?!" Konoka reeled back. "How much of a monster are you?!"

"Granted, that level of evil isn't necessary for you to become an overlord, but if you don't want to become Imamiah's plaything, I suggest you get far more ruthless." The King of Dust flashed a smile that was surely filled with termites.

"Guh..." Konoka hissed.

"She's still training, how could you expect a goody two-shoes like THAT to make any improvements in such a short time?" Lunzard challenged.

"Hn, you have definitely gotten softer," the undead king declared. "Why, just a few years ago, you were..."

"You shut the hell up," Lunzard countered coldly. "Those times have changed." He looked back, to see that Konoka had already left. "As much I never wanted it to."

"Hn, we'll see how much that's true," and the King of Dust swirled his cape, disappearing in a whirl of sand. Left behind, Lunzard looked around to see where Konoka's surprisingly stealthy exit took her.

* * *

Konoka grumped. That theme song could have been good, too, if it weren't loaded with insinuations that she couldn't be evil! Then again, did she really want to be evil, or did she just want to put on airs enough to please those obnoxious senators?

Unfortunately, Konoka wasn't paying too much attention when she stalked off. She had already wandered down to the lower areas, where the prisons had not yet been fully converted. And as Konoka paused and saw where she was, she sighed. She stopped this for some reason, even as the prinnies could have long cleaned it up since.

She wondered if she might find something down here, if there might be more to Gehenna's history, or why the Erinyes had not moved on. Ideas of evil pushed to the back of her mind, she pressed on for now.

That was when she felt something like a magical barrier break, and Konoka felt the floor give out from under her.

"Uwwaahhh!" Konoka cried as she sailed down an apparently makeshift tunnel. She attempted to slow down her descent with wings, but the space was too narrow.

Konoka once again attempted to slow herself down on the slide, using her hands this time. She succeeded, albeit the sheer force she used caused her to scrape her hands quite violently, slowing to a stop just inches above what appeared to be very spiky ground.

Now that she wouldn't be crushed by gravity or the nasty spikes, Konoka landed down, stepping forward and wading past the spiky death. She dusted herself off, only then noticing how badly scraped her hands were, and the pain that came with it. She shivered, forcing a bit of her magic to heal away the scrapes. Soon her hands were as good as new. With no one around, however, Konoka had no choice but to venture further.

And so she did. The nearly black cave was hard to figure out, but it looked like it was arched, a small hallway supported by what appeared to be flattened marble pillars. Konoka hoped that the ghastly faces were just part of her imagination, or just her feeling something of an awful aura. She paced slowly, taking steady steps, exploring this world. It appeared that she was reaching a much wider center dome, glowing faintly navy blue in Konoka's eyesight.

That was when she felt something grab her leg.

Konoka squeaked as she jerked her foot away, scrambling back from the source.

She could see a zombie. Rotted flesh, gnarled hands, and no eyes greeted her as it rose from the ground, gurgling in its reach for Konoka.

Naturally, Konoka's breath caught, and she whimpered, scrambling back, as she hadn't seen zombies like this before—Zombie Rider hardly looked so... anguished. What happened to the cool, mindless-looking creatures she'd seen in books (and occasionally wandering outside)?

But Konoka's scrambling back only had her bump into something, and whirling around to see it, she found it was another zombie. This one actually had a recognizable face, though the decaying ribcage definitely proved it was close to the others. Konoka shrieked, almost missing the fact that it spoke. "... _overlord_..."

" _It hurts_..." Konoka found another was whispering that, limping closely to her.

" _Grraayyyhhh_...!" Roared another, making Konoka jump up in absolute fright as it standing up shakily. " _Paaiiin_..." For the first time, Konoka noticed that it had wings—the fray, bony remains of them, with a few black feathers, but wings nonetheless. She also noticed it had a spear, which it was now brandishing. "... _so much_...!" And it bounded towards her.

"No!" Konoka shrieked, dodging out of the way.

" _Overlord_..." More seemed to emerge, hissing and stumbling, seemingly moving by the barest of wills alone. Konoka's frantic eyes darted to and fro, looking amongst the collection of zombies, their rotten skin only made more gruesome by the terrifying wounds that dotted their bodies. And all of them had wings. Wings like...

The overlord's eyes widened. These weren't just any zombies. They were  _Erinyes_  zombies.

Konoka shook her head in horror, stumbling back, only to find herself in their clawed grips, their grabs attempting to inflict wounds on her. " _Why don't you_...  _join our suffering_...  _overlord_?"

"Iyaaaa!" Konoka wailed, wrenching her arms away, but despite scrambling out of the mass, she found she was still terribly surrounded. "No! I didn't...!"

"You..." This voice was just as raspy as the others, but for some reason, Konoka felt power behind it. Looking beyond the crowd of zombies, she found one stood taller than the rest. Her body was completely mangled, and her eyes were missing, as if one wide slash had removed them entirely. And yet, something about her stance, or what was left of her face, felt strangely familiar... " _Share our pain... overlord... you who have..._ _ **imprisoned our souls**_..."

"Imprisoned our souls...?" Konoka repeated. She then thought of what that meant... the zombies, their moans ones of agony. No, these people contained in this buried prison  _never really died in the first place_.

The realization made Konoka sick to her stomach. "No...!"

" _Perish, overlord_..." Konoka was certain it wasn't the first time she heard those words, but the chilling finality of them might have made her shiver had she seen them at any other time. The taller Erinyes-un-zombie seemed to rally the others to her, moving to consume Konoka once and for all.

"No!" Konoka screamed again, desperate to get these anguished things away. Power swelled within her. "I did not give you this fate!"

_But you must free them from it._  A strange voice woke in her head. It didn't sound like herself or Secchan, and yet it sounded like both of them.  _Destroy them all._

Shaky with despair, she couldn't make sense of that just yet—but it had a point. Drawing as much power as she could on shaky legs, Konoka let her wings loose. "Secchan... give me  _strength_..." Power, erupting in the form of stray holy lightning, crashed all around her as she took flight, flipping upside down in midair, and curled her arms as if preparing to draw out swords.

She paused just for a second before she screamed out, hands whirling into a powerful slash. A violent wave of holy energy crashed through the zombie mob, rending them in half, and crashing into the walls, cracking the marble supports as well. Once again, she felt a magical barrier break—this time, she realized it came from the supports.

At once, all the broken zombies fell to the floor, and several spirits escaped, whirling violently to the air just above Konoka, circling her like wicked sky spirits. Konoka, however, did not realize this until she landed. As she looked up, she saw that the spirits were no doubt Erinyes... the many warrior women who had been defeated and tormented by Zegnant long ago.

Overwhelmed by their presence, Konoka could only stare in fascinated horror. Only a blink and a quick reaction, however, saved her from an opening attack.

They shrieked at her, attempting to jab at the unfortunate overlord with ghostly lances and spears. They weren't particularly painful to Konoka, but the random and violent nature of their attacks, combined with the madness Konoka could actually feel from them, kept her cowed and shivering.

Most weren't even speaking intelligibly at this point. Finally free of long-lasting pain and holding so much hate, they couldn't even convey their torment any other way. Konoka's pleas for them to stop went unheard.

All except one.

She stood above the rest, somberly looking at the madness of her peers. Her leadership had stopped when she was free of her zombie shell, and her own calls to stop this madness had been ignored. She had apparently been chanting a spell, and had just stopped before she began to reach out and grab away the spirits attacking Konoka one by one.

Konoka, still crying out, almost failed to notice something appearing behind her. She only noticed because a moment later, the torment stopped. Rising unsteadily, Konoka sniffed, and the person behind her hugged her.

"It's okay, ojou-sama," a familiar voice cooed. "I'm here."

For the moment, she rested into the touch, too busy trying to recover. But then she opened her bleary eyes, and recognized the blackness she was squeezed against. "I-I-Imamiah?.!"

The Fallen Angel of Voyages herself was there, surrounded by the other Erinyes spirits, no longer consumed by madness, but instead weeping. The fallen angel was soothing the masses, exuding an aura that somehow soothed these spirits, despite putting Konoka on edge the moment she recognized it. "There, there. There's no need to torment this young one. She is not the overlord who put you here. She freed you!"

" _Freed_?" Came one voice.

"I see now, at least one reason why sparing you has been so beneficial," Imamiah's cool gaze came down on Konoka. "Time and time again, despite all logic, your heart works to my favor, building up good karma to me. Despite bringing so many to their deaths, you seem to break the cycle of their suffering." She giggled. "Ah, I think I'm falling for you much harder now~"

Konoka backed away. "N-no way!" A beat. "H-how did you even get here?"

"Yes way~" Imamiah's smile was so genuine it was frightening. "I  _am_  an Erinyes. I feel the souls of my compatriots almost all the time—except for the ones sealed in this place. You broke that seal for me." the fallen angel explained. "Once I felt all that repressed rage, I had no choice but to get down here as soon as I could." A chuckle. "Another thing: the karma over you was terrible when I first moved to usurp the throne from your carcass, but all of that can be accounted for Zegnant. And the willingness to work off those sins would make any Prinny jealous!"

"I believe that explains a lot." A miasma of voices echoed.

Imamiah turned, as a swirl of sand formed behind her. "The King of Dust." she said coldly, as the undead leader appeared. "Why don't you get lost? I'm spending quality time with ojou-sama."

"No you're not!" Konoka exclaimed, pointing a finger. "You're trying to seduce me and take the throne, you... you fake Secchan!"

"Ojou-sama, you wound me," Imamiah said theatrically. "I cannot do those things and love your charm?"

"How worthless your sentiments are," the King remarked, lifting a gnarled finger. Konoka felt something rise and move, but since she was much more afraid of Imamiah, she dared not see what it was. "Thinking you can manipulate an overlord because her level of evil is pathetic."

"For the last time," Imamiah plucked that hazy halo from her head, letting it form into a single spiky chakram. "Be  _gone_." She slashed forward, a perfect imitation of a Shinmeiryuu attack.

The attack failed to connect. A tall carcass had moved, using a giant spear that easily blocked the slash. Imamiah went from mild irritation, then shock as she looked to who blocked it, to complete rage. "You...!" She flipped up into the air, hanging upside down with wings extended, face distorted with terrible anger. "You would use my mother's body as a  _shield_?!  _THIS IS WHY ARS GOETIA MUST DIE_." She pointed at the king, and a searing black and white laser pierced through.

Despite the zombie puppet's power, the laser went through it—and the King of Dust, who flinched in surprise, but didn't seem to take a critical hit. The wicked undead monster began to chant, trying to draw other bodies close as well. The spirits seemed to share Imamiah's outrage, nearly drawing back to them to resist this onslaught. Imamiah aimed her other finger to strike again, but suddenly stopped. She looked back, beyond the spirits and the edgy Konoka to see the last one, the solemn, tall one. The spirit of her own mother.

Imamiah hissed, but ultimately backed down.

Looking at the swarm of spirits, then back at Konoka and the King of Dust, Imamiah set herself right-side up before finally faced her mother, giving a forlorn nod. "After all these years, and all I can give you is a brief goodbye." If they were communicating, Konoka couldn't make it out—she heard nothing from the ghost. Imamiah turned away from her. "Do not worry, I will avenge your suffering."

"You'll avenge what, exactly?" The King of Dust challenged. "This place is my dominion."

"Silly fool, you only control their  _shells_ ," Imamiah countered sharply, drawing upon magical power. " **Deus caligine tectus.** " Her wings extended out, and Konoka watched as a swirling gate appeared below them. " **Valkyries, come to your living sister. Pass through the gate and take thy voyage to ye judgment.** " The spirits stopped their outrage amongst the overlord and the king, solemnly withdrawing, and disappearing into the void below.

The King of Dust eyelid twitched in irritation—he had forgotten that by extension, Imamiah was heir to the Erinyes and the control of soul flow.

Konoka watched as the last of them faded away into the void, disappearing. The portal disappeared, and Imamiah landed. She regained her composure before facing the two of them. "You may puppet their bodies, but their souls will collect your rotten karma one day, rotten king." She calmly flew by Konoka. "As for you, you have my thanks. I will work hard to devise a way to claim you, and free you from your fate."

"Can't you do just the second one?" Konoka countered, albeit weakly.

Imamiah's only answer was a laugh, almost mocking due to how it reminded her of her protector, before she cast her own portal, flying away into it. Had she blinked, Konoka might have missed four spirits chasing after her as the portals disappeared, and all evidence she had appeared was gone with her.

Her attention shifted back to the King of Dust, who was, ironically enough, dusting himself off. "Is that how wicked you have to be to scare her off?"

"Why not? I don't see your kindness working any better," he answered, leering at Konoka.

She frowned. She didn't like either side, but at least Imamiah was up front.

"Konoka!" She turned, hearing a machine whirling at maximum capability and widening the hole she slipped in. In seconds, the drilled debris had covered the spikes, and Beryl and Lunzard appeared. Both darted down over to her.

"I can see the frustration building, Miss Overlord. Ars Goetia might have another avenue you can try." The King of Dust spoke. "Farewell." And he disappeared in a swirl of sand, just as Beryl reached her.

"Are you all right?" Beryl asked, looking about. "Was this a trap that king put you in?" Konoka shook her head.

"How'd you even get here?" Konoka asked.

"I was looking for stuff in the lower library when Lunzard came running around with his giant drill. I got concerned and followed him."

Lunzard, on the other hand, looked completely devastated at the surroundings. The ruined cage, the corpses... "N...noooo!" He stomped the ground. Enraged yet again, he pointed a furious finger in Konoka's direction. " _You idiot_! Have you realized what you done?.! As awful as it was, this cage was built to contain their power!"

Normally, Lunzard's tirades slipped right off of her, but the overlord only felt more frustration, and snapped back, "What was I supposed to do, let them kill me, or let their anguish dance in my nightmares?!"

"You should have made a better escape!  _You have have just made that infernal Erinyes leader stronger by a_ _ **factor of ten!**_  She can wipe the floor with you whenever she wants now!"

Beryl, cognizant of Konoka's attitude, snapped back at the demon mechanic. "The hell is your problem?!"

"Stay out of this!" Lunzard snapped back, sounding more desperate than enraged, before going back to Konoka and ranting about the doom that will befall her. But while she said nothing further, Beryl's leer did not waver.

She probably should have seen this coming, but she shook her head. Trying not to tear up, Konoka turned her back to him. "I had enough." She leered towards Lunzard. "Even if it makes Imamiah stronger, I will satisfy  _no legacy_  of Zegnant's!" Her wings extended, flapping strongly. "Beryl-han. I'm leaving."

Confused by her odd demeanor but reluctant to stick around a place this creepy, the small demon shakily answered, "O-oka—waaah!" Konoka had snatched her up before she even realized what was going on. The hole was now big enough to fly out, so Konoka easily soared away.

Once she was further away from that madness, into the much quieter upper halls, Konoka gave a sad sigh. "I don't think I'm cut out for this..."

Beryl gave her a look. "Are you okay?"

"I dunno how to fight Imamiah," Konoka answered. "She's obviously dangerous and ruthless... and yet..."

"This evil business isn't cutting it?" Beryl suggested.

"Not just that," Konoka answered, coming to a stop and landing down in one of the quiet hallways. "I see what they're trying to do. If my heart is wicked enough, I won't care about things like this, and I won't go weak-kneed just because she sounds like Secchan (and hugs me like Secchan, and touches me in ways—wait, that's no good!). They think my heart in Imamiah's hands will end the world. But... what I saw down there, it's no wonder she's the way she is! And Ars Goetia, and the way Lunzard is, they aren't any better! How can I  _not_ sympathize?"

Beryl thought for a moment. "You know what? That's actually all the more reason you need to beat her!"

"Eh?" That left Konoka completely flummoxed.

"That's right!" Beryl bellowed, feeling more confident as she had Konoka's attention. "If you can knock some sense into her, you can save everybody! If you learn her story, you can solve everyone's problems! You can whip Ars Goetia into shape, and then you can show her why _you're_  the main character!"

Konoka gave Beryl a small smile. "Thanks, Beryl-han. But... I need a moment alone."

"That's right!" Beryl pumped her fist—then what Konoka said caught up to her. "W-what?"

"Don't worry about me," Konoka said, setting her down. "I just need some time to think." And, ignoring any protests Beryl might have had, she flew off yet again.

Left alone, Beryl blinked. What the hell happened in that hole?

**X-X-X**

_From the Ozonne Database_

**Name:**  Satsuki Yotsuba

**Age:**  18

**Gender:**  Female

**Class:**  Lovestruck Cook ("Wait, my title changed again?" Satsuki asked.)

**Notable Characteristics:**  Plus sized cook with two minor twin tails. Her recent activity in the Netherworld has extended the rest of her hair and slimmed her body down slightly from her school days, so she says. She also advises chubby chasers to please stop drooling. Her no nonsense but calm, non-abrasive personality means she has a lot of fans (I'm actually impressed with her myself).

**Affiliation:**  Chao Bao Zi (main cook, former owner), Gehenna (main cook), Former Mahora Academy Student

**Background:**  Satsuki has about nothing as far as traumatic pasts go. She was raised by loving, if somewhat stern parents, who always made it a case to approach all things calmly. Her mother was a good cook, and taught Satsuki her basic skills. However, her curiosity and perseverance in the kitchen allowed her to quickly surpass her mother and become a master cook.

That ability got her recognized by Chao when the latter arrived at Mahora. Chao's fledgling shop Chao Bao Zi needed talent, and that's where Satsuki's fame took off. With this in mind, Satsuki made plans for the future. Even the mayhem of Class 3-A didn't distract her—if anything, it cemented her drive. Even the Dark Evangel had to respect her for that. Some say that she had to motivate the fallen Ala Alba once they lost Konoka to their return attempts from the magical world.

As her graduation approached, she entered a contest to earn a scholarship that would take her to a master culinary school. A slightly needier candidate won over her, but her talent was recognized. Opting to travel and widen her abilities, Satsuki left Mahora once she felt confident that Negi and his friends would recover. Unfortunately, about this time, demons were sneaking onto the human world, looking for added human slaves to help deal with the growing instability of their own homeworlds, due to the recent chaos of Evil Academy (a year ago) and the Empty Gehenna War (a year and a half ago). Sir Sweet managed to snatch her from one of her travel spots, and Ala Alba only knew thanks to Negi's encounter with her in Gehenna a year later.

**Abilities:**  Satsuki's pretty much an ordinary girl, albeit due to exposure to the Netherworld, she has made some small gains to her strength and stamina. Her pactio with the Overlord of Gehenna,  _Aurea Lebetem_ , comes with a set of cooking utensils that will allow her to cook anything on the fly. However, its most dangerous ability is, with the right noise frequency made by a frying pan and spatula, she can draw anything to the pot—other living beings, projectiles, and even magic spells. She can store them in boiling water, then unleash them within a three minute period.

**Evility:**  Hunger: Enemies have increased failure rate when attacking in Satsuki's vicinity, thanks to the smell of her cooking. Does not work against other cooks.

_**CLASSIFIED** _

**Pet Peeve:**  Drooling

**Notes:**  While mostly unflappable, Satsuki never really experienced romantic feelings and desires. Her supposed attraction to Konoka, naturally, confuses the hell out of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can also visit here to see certain snippets and discuss and speculate! (remember to replace dots and slashes): http:(double slash) z13 dot invisionfree dot com slash Ala_Iridia slash index dot php?showtopic=9). Also, other than select characters, I can approach data files based on demand, so speak up if a particular character intrigues or confuses you!
> 
> This is almost caught up. New, never before seen chapter on the web by the weekend!


	18. Chapter 17: Heart of Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And thus, Konoka makes a bold statement, as Ala Alba prepares to head into Evil Academy...

"And that's how we roll!" Mao concluded boldly, easily leaping out of the way out of an ice spike jutting out from the ground. "Any questions?"

He and Ala Alba were currently in one of the more fancy areas of Eva's resort. Mao was outlining the schedule he had in mind for getting the team to Evil Academy, as well as what dangers they might be up against. The group of young heroes and demons (and demon heroes) had gathered at one of the podiums, overlooking a serene waterfall. Well, it would be, if it wasn't frozen over.

"Yes, I have one~!" Haruna called out. A beat. "Why's Eva-chan trying to kill you?"

"Because I interrupted her attempt to seduce your child teacher, why else?" Mao answered cheerily despite the slew of ice arrows trying to do him in. Of course, the previous sentence may not have been the truth, as a stray arrow managed to slap him in the face, he then irritably added, "But you attempt to add  _one_  rocket launcher to Chachamaru's boobs..."

"I'm going to add  _one_  rocket launcher alright!" Eva roared, once again hurling a huge ice spear. This one finally managed to connect, sending Mao sprawling to the ground. She immediately began stamping his face in.

"Eva-chan, please calm down!" Nodoka called.

"Yes, we know he's a creep that could make even Chamo blush, but he IS in the middle of telling us something important," Yue added, taking a sip of tomato juice. "Can you spare him for another five minutes?"

A pause. " _Fine_ ," she hissed, removing her foot from his face.

"Ooohhh... I think I managed to get a femdom fetish! No wonder harem male leads are lacking spines these days..." Mao groaned from the floor, completely woozy. That only drew blank stares.

Negi sighed, rubbing his head. "At the very least, I hope we'll be making the move in two days. I trust all of you are at good stopping points in all of your lessons. It could be a good while before we get back—it might even take us months like it did in the Magical World."

Asuna tightened a fist. "I'm not letting what happened three years ago happen here. You bet your ass we're all ready."

There was an almost somber pause. Truly, 3-A knew of the danger they ran into three years ago, and yet, still thinking about it felt painful, at the very least. Whoever said nostalgia was always sweet was a pretty bad liar.

But then the somber mood was broken when Asagi said, "Are you sure you want to bet his ass?"

"No way!" Nodoka protested, despite her face being red. "I'd much prefer to keep it!"

Negi's eye twitched. Surely the girls were conspiring to test the limits of his demonhood.

Yue kept a very stern glare in Haruna's direction, even as the latter protested, "That was her line, not mine!"

"Who's fault do you think it is she's become like this?" Yue kept up her glare. "I'm not letting you let her proofread your doujins anymore."

"B-but she's my best critic!" That sounded pretty petulant coming from Haruna.

"Guys," Asakura laughed, looking between the two of them. The pineapple-headed photographer continued, "C'mon, we don't have much time! We gotta get ready!" Looking at Mao, however, prompted the woman to ask another question. "Hey, is it true that Evil Academy's mystery meat contains the remains of failure students?"

Mao, finally recovering, had to support himself on one knee. "Eugh, weren't you paying attention?!" He rose up to both feet. "Of course! We at Evil Academy pride ourselves in the insane powers of evil! You get locked in the dungeons for detention if you don't spit in the hallways!"

Negi blanched, as did several others.

"Well that's what you say," Asagi said carefully. "But when I was looking for my stardom and told some demons about blood drives, all they did was complain and sneer in my general direction! Only 1 in about 5 actually attacked me!" She sighed, thinking of her tough times back then. "Nobody wanted to bother me! I'd never get to be the main character at this rate!"

"T-those demons were obviously failures!" Mao shouted back.

"Then let  _me_  at them," Evangeline sneered. "I'll whip those pathetic demons into shape!"

"So does that mean you're coming too?" Negi asked.

"Of course!" Evangeline turned to him. "I haven't tasted real freedom in a while, and watching you suffer is too interesting to pass up. I also hope that ditzy healer has toughened up too."

"Maybe..." Negi said, exchanging a knowing glance.

Ayaka, who had been mostly silent until then, said, "This... Evil Academy sounds like such a pleasant place..."

"Of  _course_  it is!" Mao sneered, almost boasting to counter the rich girl's wavering sarcasm. "It'll be perfect playground for the likes of you, with mana pools several times thicker than any place you've been visiting... even here. Only by mastering survival in my school will you be ready." He drew himself up. "If you don't  _step up your game_ , Ala Alba..."

Said group of heroes turned to Mao, even as he rose up. However they felt earlier, they were only looking at him seriously.

"... _you won't save your demon friend_."

* * *

Flonne soared towards one of the upper balconies of Gehenna's castle. A flap of white wings later, and she had landed safely there. "Whew!" she sighed. "Helping good demons by moonlight~, taking angel tests by daylight. Never running from a real fight, I am the one who will be named Archangel Flonne. Yeah~!"

She let her glamor fade away, her angelic robes falling into pieces before her much skimpier fallen form. Truth be told, she was going to miss this little form once she managed to successfully graduate. Granted, she could always change into it, but she always found it was a bit easier to move around in as the default. Speaking of, nobody was around this particular hallway. "Looks like I get to sneak around some more. Nin nin!" Somewhere, Kaede twitched.

That was ruined a moment later.

"Hey Flonne!" As the startled fallen angel momentarily fell out of her composure, Beryl barreled in sight. "There you are! Where have you been off to?"

"Oh hi, Beryl!" Flonne greeted, relieved that it was a friend. "I've been working on a promotion! I'm gonna be a high ranking angel soon!"

"That's great!" The diminutive pink demon said. A beat. "Wait, you can do that?"

"Of course!" Flonne answered happily. "The Seraph was more than happy to let me aim for the test despite being a fallen. Said he wanted to start a good precedent or something like that. Politics is still kinda confusing."

"That's cool!" Beryl said. "I don't want to switch up on you too much, but we've got a problem! Konoka's been scarce lately, and I'm worried she might go into this evil business seriously!"

"Evil business?" Flonne blinked, trying to recall. "Ah, that! Well, she still has the heart of a hero, so I have faith even if she puts up a good act, what she is beneath won't falter! But if you're too worried, let's follow up with her, then!"

"That's a good idea," Beryl rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Let's see if we can find her."

* * *

A little while later Flonne and Beryl couldn't find Konoka—but they did find an odd demon wandering the grounds. She was much like the female warriors of their world—armored pants and sports-bra-like belt, but the tiny curved horns meant she was the same demon that Konoka encountered the other day.

This green-haired demon looked... oddly pleased. "Tehehe... I guess it's not so bad."

Daring to venture what this girl had past her gaze, Beryl asked, "What's the matter?"

"I don't think I've seen you around here before, either," Flonne also added, staring at her intently.

"Well, I've been extorted," the green-haired demon said. "She said that if I didn't work for her, I'd be kicked out of the castle. Literally."

"Her?"

"The overlord," came her answer.

Beryl and Flonne exchanged looks. "Konoka extorted you?" Beryl finally said.

"Is that her name? She looks delightfully scary..." The demon smiled. "But now I have a place to stay!"

"This is bad," Beryl's voice quavered slightly, whispering to Flonne. "She's already moved on to extortion! She'll turn into an honor student before long!"

"P-please calm down!" Flonne hissed back. "She doesn't sound irredeemable yet! Nothing a little justice marathon can't fix! I won't stop until she can totally handle it!" But something else caused her concern—namely, the way that the green-haired demoness seemed almost... lovestruck. Was that the result of those odd rumors that Etna started that said that she liked girls?

"Is  _that what she said_?!" the three girls stopped before turning to see a familiar warrior. "I, Turmeric of the Phoenix Clan, will certainly want to  _test that theory_!"

However, somebody else sent that to a crashing halt. "Turmeric?"

Turmeric faltered—apparently he hadn't noticed the girl between Beryl and Flonne until it was too late. " _H-Haldi_?"

"Turmeric!" The green-haired demon Valkyrie happily pounced on top of him with a hug. "You should come home! The whole family's splintered and they're worried about you!"

" _Dammit_  Haldi! I told all of them I wasn't coming back until I've  _avenged our mother_!" the warrior protested in his sister's embrace. "Sir Sweet's wicked rule may have been stopped, but I refuse to live  _under that curse_!" A beat. "Besides,  _this is where I work now_!"

"I guess this is where my luck finally gets a break!" Haldi said, loosening her grip but not letting go. "If you're going to play that way, then I'll just reunite the family down here!"

" _Good luck with that_ ," Turmeric retorted. "It won't happen in  _a million years_!"

"Umm..." Flonne was completely lost from the change in conversation.

"A family reunion? That sounds badass!" Beryl marveled. "I've got to check up on our overlord, but keep me posted!" With a little wink, Beryl waved as she made her exit, dragging Flonne away behind her.

* * *

"That may have worked out pretty well," Beryl figured as she continued down the stairs, Flonne following behind her, "but that still doesn't seem right, you know?"

"If it achieves a greater cause and breaks that silly prophecy, then I don't see what's wrong with it!" Flonne said passionately, eyes ablaze. "If anything, that style of justice means that Konoka will be a dark hero, and we don't have to do anything at all!"

"You're totally right!" Flonne's attitude was terribly contagious to Beryl, so she completely forgot her concerns—for all of five seconds. "...but I still wanna check up on her."

"True," Flonne said, thinking. "And she seems to charm girls a lot. Does that mean anything from an evil standpoint."

"Probably not, but let's ask her anyway," Beryl answered. "That can't be good for Satsuki." And so, they made their way to the kitchen. Chances were that Satsuki knew more about what Konoka was up to, knowing their closeness.

However, when they reached the kitchen, while they did smell the niceties of meat buns, it was also pretty quiet. As Beryl and Flonne walked in, they saw Satsuki quietly eating, and were about to greet her before someone else beat them to the punch. "Hello there." Both girls paused. They don't remember anyone in the castle sounding so... sultry.

Which is why, when they turned to see who it was, their eyes threatened to leap out of their sockets when they saw Konoka there, coolly smiling at them. Her black and white kimono seemed almost frightening and wraith-like to them. Furthermore, her eyes still glowed beyond the shade provided by a tiny umbrella. "Are you guys okay?"

Beryl swallowed hard. "A-ah yeah." She peered at Konoka. "What's with your getup?"

"It's my new look. It'll help me with the mindset I need for a Heart of Evil," Konoka explained. As Satsuki exchanged worried looks with the other two, Konoka continued. "I'd figure once I got to eating puppies and burning orphanages, I could start raining despair on the townsfolk, earning an army through extortion, and then start jaywalking without remorse. Isn't that sweet?" She smiled brightly, effectively losing that chilly countenance she had earlier.

"I hope that's followed by an epic battle with a band of five heroes, who will change your heart!" Flonne said, her face yet again etched in worried passion.

A moment later, Konoka could no longer keep a straight face, and fell into a fit of giggles. "Wow, that actually worked! Lord Junkie was right, Ars Goetia will be blown~"

Having been caught up in the moment, Beryl let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Geez, Konoka! Don't freak us out like that!" It appeared the giggles were contagious, as Beryl was starting to giggle too. "I'd hate for you to go full honor student, Mao would go batshit insane!"

"You aren't evil?" Flonne blinked. She sighed. "I'm relieved, but I was hoping for a shining boss battle that reminded you of your inner goodness."

"Gotta save that for later, I'm afraid," Konoka shrugged.

"After all," Satsuki said, finally speaking. "She  _did_  do those things. I helped her." It took a moment for Satsuki's words to sink in, but as Beryl and Flonne's faces began to twist in horror, she continued, "Granted, I baked her hushpuppies, and the orphanage was a collection of rotted logs labeled as such, but at least Konoka can sleep at night."

Konoka once again burst into a fit of giggles. "Satsuki-chan, please stop joking with them like that, they'll get heart attacks!"

"I'm not joking." A beat. "At least I think I'm not."

Beryl just shook. However, Flonne's face grew serious.

"Well," Konoka waved that off. "At the very least, this look is serious. Relax, though. After a little thinking, I've got a couple of ideas on how to pull this off without actually doing anything rotten. I had a chat with Lord Junkie earlier today, and he gave me a nice idea! It'll give me a little more freedom, too."

"Lord Junkie? Who's that?" Beryl asked.

"He's a member of Ars Goetia," Konoka explained.

"What is it?" Flonne was at Konoka's side immediately. "Will it involve hiring Effort Ninja Gorillian?!"

"Flonne-han." Konoka took Flonne's hands. "I trust I will need you far sooner than I would need Effort Ninja Gorillian. My path of justice lies within you."

"Ummm..." The closeness of the gesture left Flonne's face red. "Okay."

"Anyway, I'm gonna make an announcement on that, so you'll have to sit tight!" Konoka winked before pulling away. "Meet in the courtroom in a little while, okay?" And with that, she left.

Flonne, boiling with confusion on this matter, stared at her hands. Etna's words about Konoka's preference were starting to get to her. It didn't seem evil, but she could make no sense of it, not while, as far as she was concerned, she never had any particular thoughts about romance concerning herself—other than maybe Laharl. So what was Konoka doing? "I've always believed in the power of love, but what happens when love is the one that believes in me?"

Beryl tried to think of an answer, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to set off the logic bomb and reduce her brain to mush.

"What else can you do but be there?" Satsuki said, ignoring said bomb completely. "I know it's all I can do (and cook), but I'll do that to the best of my ability." There was a pause as she crossed her arms. "Truth be told, I'm a bit worried. I haven't seen Konoka have  _that_  kind of draw before..."

"What's  _that_  mean?" Beryl asked.

"To be honest, I'm not sure if I can define it."

"Nebulous Japanese term of doom!" Flonne supplied, but all she got were blank stares. "What?"

"Anyway," Satsuki shook her head, as if clearing out cobwebs. Her voice seemed slightly more measured than normal. "It has something to do with her personality." And thinking on that, she knew what to do there: investigate.

"Let's go, and see what she's talking about."

* * *

Ars Goetia. The gathering of demons that created the laws in which Gehenna, and numerous other demon worlds. Most of the time, these people met in the courtroom, to focus on which laws to pass, rewrite, and rebuke. Here, though, they were called for a different purpose.

"So why were we called here?" Rozalin asked, folding her arms. "I had to shave off five minutes of my dressing time for this! This better be worth it."

"Weren't you wasting time with—" Adell started with, but then, as if remembering something, stopped and shook his head. "Nevermind." Not that it was necessary at this point, but Rozalin gave him a stern, if embarrassed look.

"I wonder if my conversation with her earlier today inspired her," the top-hat bearing Lord Junkie said. "I told her of my dashing adventures as a gentleman thief, and my tenure at the Demon Research Institute. Ah, to inspire the young...!"

"You have?" Prinny K regarded the Moab magician. "Thinking about it now, it's been a long time since I set up that child for a marriage meeting. Maybe her announcement will be...!"

A gun was pointed in his direction. "Don't try your luck," Mana regarded Prinny K with one eye open. The powerful Prinny sighed in defeat.

As the demons finished filling in, Konoka herself walked in. Most of the members of Ars Goetia had not yet seen her at this point, so there were some mild moments of surprise coming from them. Compared to her childish demeanor earlier, this was a rather surprising improvement.

"Ah," the bearded Graf Wilhelm marveled. "You look even lovelier than before."

Konoka took a small bow, an equally small smile on her face. "Thank you." She looked about. "Is everyone here? I'm ready for my announcement."

As the members of Ars Goetia checked to see that all were present, the doors opened. Lunzard Torque appeared, briefly looking around before his shaded eyes apparently fell on Konoka. "What's the meaning of this?"

Konoka stared back at him. "Well, you said step up my game, so I am."

"And just how are you going to do that?" Lunzard said.

And if there was any more relevant timing, Flonne also appeared, followed by Satsuki, Beryl, and her two retainers Kyoko and Asuka.

If Konoka was nervous from all these eyes on her, she showed very little of it. "Well, listen to my announcement and see!" She faced the bigger crowd of Ars Goetia once more. "Ladies and gentlemen, demons of all kinds! I have an announcement to make!"

A moment passed. "As you are all aware, we live in dangerous times. It was told that, unless I embraced evil, then I would spell doom for the world. I have no interest in dooming this world, no matter what. And it seems that there are all sorts of reasons running around on why this is so." she looked at Prinny K, who stared back evenly, with interest flickering in his eyes. "But none really make any practical sense, other than the very real threat of the Erinyes, or at least their leader. They who once claimed this place before Zegnant will stop at nothing to get it back, and that will likely spell everyone's doom." There were hushed whispers of surprise—apparently not everyone knew this place once belonged to them in the first place. "It's the only reason that I can follow.

"So, to take care of both of these in one fell swoop, I have a solution!" She chirped. "One of you was so kind as to inspire me, really!" She could tell by the way Lord Junkie was shaking that he was resisting the urge to claim all the credit. "I will travel outside of Gehenna, to visit the Demon Research Institute, and it is there where I will commit the  _evilest act ever_." That last part was emphasized by Konoka attempting her best impression of Nagi Springfield's most arrogant face.

There was stunned silence.

Flonne, Satsuki, and the girls around her exchanged horrified glances.

Adell smacked his face with his palm.

Prinny K crashed onto the ground—and exploded, knocking out Lord Junkie with him.

Andras was the first to speak after that. "Are you going to tell us what that evil act IS?"

"Nope!" Konoka chirped, causing a few more members of Ars Goetia to crash. "You'll just have to keep your eyes out on the newspapers! I'll give you a hint though—it'll be about self-discovery and putting Gehenna on the history books!"

Prinny K seemed to recover from his apparent explosion, his earlier shock replaced by that intrigued look from even earlier.

"Well, that's it! Don't let the door hit you on the way out~!" Konoka completely ignored the shocked faces as she made her escape, skipping away happily.

With the crowd dispersing in confusion, worry, one particular member of Ars Goetia showed the same level of interest in Konoka's attitude as Prinny K did.

Unlike him, though, Mei showed no other emotion as she disappeared in a flicker of darkness.

* * *

"We gotta stop her!" Beryl yelled as she scrambled to the hallways outside. "All of that sounds terrible!"

"That's right!" Kyoko agreed, nodding profusely. "If she commits the evilest act ever, there won't be any turning back, she'll become so wicked as to be irredeemable!"

"Please hold on!" Satsuki called, trying her best to try and catch up, but only having mildly improved her physical abilities, she still tired out from sprints incredibly easily. The Evil Academy graduates stopped, allowing her and Flonne to catch up. "There's still something off about this."

"Perhaps, but what choice do we have but to act now?" Asuka said. "If we don't do something she could really be lost."

Satsuki didn't have much to say against that just yet.

Flonne, holding her hands together, let her eyes flare up. "It's obvious what we must do!" As the others turned to her, she continued, "For the good of Konoka and the kingdom she rules, we must commence the ultimate boss battle against her, right here and now! Only then, will she wake up and approach this dilemma, not with a heart of evil, but a heart of justice!"

"True!" Flonne's passion was contagious, and Beryl's eyes followed suit. She pumped her fist. "We'll show her what for!"

Unfortunately, Satsuki spoke. "...but can you guys actually fight her?"

The rains of logic snuffed out their cheery passions, and they were worried once more. "Ah..." While Konoka would still not fight them seriously enough to harm them, the reality was that Konoka was stronger, it would take less effort for the overlord to beat them, likely with more disastrous results. If they didn't fight to defeat her permanently, they stood no chance.

With no one running around like lunatics any longer, Satsuki thought back, still troubled by the fact that everyone seemed to be taking Konoka's words at face value—no wait...!

* * *

_Back before they parted, when Negi and Mao were parting ways with her, Negi spoke to her._

" _Satsuki-san," he said. "I trust that you'll be safe until we find our way there. And please watch over Konoka-san. How powerful she now?"_

" _I don't know how to judge her power compared to everyone else," Satsuki said. "But it is great, perhaps inconceivable to me. But a lot of people are like that here."_

" _...then I can only trust that she'll hang on. We've seen how Setsuna-san handles her affairs in her heart, but she might have to rely on you for the outside world. Can you do that, Satsuki-san?"_

_There was a pause, but the cook gave a warm smile. "I'll do my best. We'll be waiting for you, Negi-sensei."_

" _Our trip, however, showed that there's more to Konoka-san than what she appears like." Negi gave a wry smile. "She's pulled one over on us."_

" _Who knew that this yuri girlie had hidden depths so long that they were an_ abyss _?" Came Mao, who seemed to be in some nerdy thought or another. "But you know what they say—light shines brightest down there, after all. Mwaaaaahahahaha!"_

" _Mao-san, we're not talking about what the inside of her heart looks like," Negi chastised him._

_Mao merely whistled and gave him a look that said, 'Who said I was talking about that?'._

* * *

As she recalled that, the cook reached a conclusion—there was no way Konoka meant those words at face value. So what was she really aiming for?

"I think I'm going to head back to Celestia for now, and think of a way to help. Maybe we can distract her long enough for her to reconsider." Flonne finally resolved. "I'm not giving up hope! I'll just have to rethink things!"

"Me too! I know some people at Evil Academy who will help out too!" Beryl smacked a fist in her palm, before turning to her two retainers, who also nodded.

The other four turned to Satsuki, who, after a moment of deliberation, said. "I'll stick by Konoka-san's side. There's more to this than what she said."

The demons and fallen angel exchanged looks. "Well, good luck," Flonne said. "And remember, if she starts going crazy, make sure to make her watch Super Hero X marathons!"

Satsuki twitched. "Ah..." She was never a fan of Super Hero X, but it was not her place to knock Flonne's tastes.

And so, as the four split off, out of sight, another demon lord folded her arms. Overlord Priere figured it would soon be time for her to make her move.

* * *

When night fell, the black swan was at his best.

Even within the confines of the science division labs, Cygnus knew when the sun was set, and the shade of a new moon swallowed up the lands he tread. Considering his affinity to the element of Darkness, it was both his hobby and his job to be in tune with such things. The dark world that greeted him as he emerged from a shadow on the building's rooftop was a welcome sight.

"So this world is connected too," the shadow man dressed in white said. "Tied to the most glorious DARKNESS. This saga began in DARKNESS, and so it shall end. These little people, yearning to save their friend, are no different. DARKNESS shall spout within their hearts, grow in them,  _consume_  them! Only then will they see the true weight of what they're up against." He sneered at nothing, but he didn't care—the rottenness that he spilled extended through the air bolstered his control over the wild element. "And thus ends my daily extolling of the glory of DARKNESS."

"Ah, those lines sound familiar. I'd ask for more, but it's clear you're trying way too hard. As usual."

Annoyed, Cygnus whirled around back to the shadows. "YOU FOOL, DARKNESS CONQUERS ALL WORL—" His rant was cut short as he recognized a claw slashing at him, forcing him to flip away at the last moment. "Dammit," he growled, landing on his feet.

Emerging from the shadows was a young-looking dark-skinned lady, hair as pale as snow, dressed in what seemed to be an immaculate jester outfit. A painted scar rested on one eye, and a painted tear hung below another. Zazie Rainyday stepped into the weak light. "I see the one self-christened as the Bedeviled Swan King is goofing off as usual."

"Long time no see," Cygnus crossed his arms, and shadowy wisps formed behind him, giving rise to a shadowy black swan. "I'm a busy man, so forgive me for wanting to ham it up every now and then."

"Ah, so work hard..." Zazie began, before appearing right in front of the man in the blink of an eye. "...play hard?" And indeed, if by 'play' Zazie meant 'slash', then Zazie was in fact, playing hard. Cygnus twirled to evade, but hissed as nails slashed through his white jacket. He swiftly ended his twirl with a darkness-enhanced punch to counter attack, but Zazie sidestepped the blow by a hair. The man grinned—he had a second punch ready, and this one had a black shockwave added to it. Zazie put her guard up just in time to be sent careening backwards.

The demon princess uncrossed both hands and her thin, black wings before raising her hand. Shapes emerged from the ground, all of them dark blobs of various sizes with white masks, all of them having blank, drooling smiles and any even number of tiny black eyes. "At the very least, you're still something of a trickster."

"Really? I thought  _you_  were the Joker of the Rainyday family." Cygnus countered. He watched carefully as the jester-like demon flicked her hand forward, and those black blobs, merely staring at him before, suddenly rushed him. He grunted as he dove under one creature, jumped over another, then quickly began his erratic skating to dodge the others. "You aren't just here for a punchline, are you?"

"Hardly," was Zazie's only answer, slashing forward and forcing Cygnus out of his erratic dodging. She followed up with another, leading her right into the space of the other demon. Both of them crossed fist and claw, playing a dangerous game of chicken—the first to falter with their attacks would get one in the face.

Then Zazie smirked and suddenly dropped, making Cygnus falter.

The swan-like man quickly gathered his bearings just in time to see Zazie slip into the shadows—more specifically,  _his_  shadow. There went the punch to the face, then. "Oh come on...!" He complained. " _I_  was going to pull that trick first!" He reared back, gathering black energy to oust her.

Only soft giggling met his complaint, and the swan demon found himself face to face with those drooling pets again. He had to admit, with those black blobs swirling around him and wondering if he might fit in their stomachs, all while the source of these things hid out of reach, would have been frightening to an ordinary human.

He, on the other hand, was totally ready for something like this.

As one of them opened their jaws to devour him, Cygnus burst backwards, flipping over another that tried to sweep under him. "Come guardian!" Cygnus bellowed. The swan at his side answered his call, swinging forward with a single wing and slicing an attacking blob in two. From there, the swan continued to use its wings to slice at the fiends that tried to attack its charge.

" **Gloria en obscurum** ," Cygnus murmured, his unlock spell letting his magical power channel through him. Drawing his power through his right arm, he pointed at the earth, finger shining. "Shadow Pulse."

One shadowy explosion later, and Zazie was sailing into the sky. However, it wasn't without grace—she easily landed on her two feet, and her pets resurfaced, no worse for wear.

Cygnus, on the other hand, lost interest. He crossed his arms, and his guardian swan disappeared. "This is pointless."

"But pretty fun," she said. "Much like your grandstanding."

"Hn." He decided to let that complimensult slide. "So how long have you been out here, anyway?"

"I've spent most of my youth here, actually. 3-A was filled with interesting people to the demon world, so naturally they wanted me to keep an eye on them," answered the enigmatic demon princess. Zazie's pets had settled down, relaxing their stances as Zazie herself did. That still didn't stop them from staring at Cygnus as if he were a tasty snack. "I may not have been particularly close to any one person, but Konoka's disappearance three years ago was painful. Only now am I seeing something close to happiness in the hearts of Ala Alba since that day."

"I hope they can keep that happiness," Cygnus said. "She may firmly be entrenched in her role as overlord of Gehenna."

"So I've heard," Zazie said, her gaze looking a tad sharper than Cygnus remembered it. "It doesn't seem like a job that cheery healer would pick." She loomed closer, the threatening aura from her earlier appearance surging again. "What makes you so sure she'll stay?"

"Hn," Cygnus grinned. "Would she want to leave when the most vicious of Dark Assemblies is at her back, and the wicked fallen angels are at her front? They'd see her as the ultimate pawn against the other, so they won't leave her alone even if she steps down. Thus the fate of the demon lord who rid the world of Zegnant."

"It is not a pretty place to be," Zazie conceded. "But I still wonder how you know those things. While you've made up a million titles for yourself in delusions of grandeur, they don't legitimately call you the Shadow Broker for nothing," A wry smile appeared on her lips, and she let one clawed finger tap her cheek. "I'm certain it's the only reason why I haven't smashed you myself."

"Shut up," Cygnus hissed back. But he took a moment before sighing, a hand resting on his forehead. "Let's just say that... when the time comes, none deserve to strike me down for my crimes more than the overlord herself."

Zazie regarded him most curiously. "That's new. You feel guilt these days? Unbecoming of a demon..."

"Shove it."

"Such cold words," Zazie sighed in obvious mock dismay. "In any case, rumor has it a seriously evil overlord is visiting my hometown," Zazie answered. "I have a feeling that you may need to head that way if you're doing what I think you're doing."

The dark-skinned man uncovered his face, a grin appearing on his lips. "We're actually on our way to Evil Academy in a short while." Looking on, down to the streets below, he could already see Asuna and a few others on their way to the labs. "I'm sure it'll be easy to send them that way."

"Do tell me when you've done something about their backwards education process," Zazie said. "Only three people ever graduated that school."

"I'm sure something will be done as soon as Demon Research Institute stops abducting everyone else who gives a damn," the swan gave a mock salute, before running back towards the door and fading into a portal of darkness. "See ya." And he was gone, back inside the building.

Zazie shook her head. What exactly was she going to do about him? She shook her head. "Maybe it's about time I returned home."

* * *

"I take it everyone's here?" Mao looked around. The gateway of darkness, now powered by machines and seals, was active. He said this as Ala Alba, that simple group, gathered together nearby. Even Asagi, who was normally somewhat passive, looked fairly interested. "We don't have much time, you know!"

"Hya hya hya! I bet you're just eager to show these young ones your home kitchen! Boom!" Mr. Champloo called, arms boldly rested on his hips.

"Don't confuse me for you," Mao muttered.

"Hey guys! Don't forget us!" A voice rang out. Lo and behold, who would appear but tall and slender boy with a shock of black hair, dog ears poking out distinctly at his side. Of course, it wouldn't be the one known as Kotarou without his trademark black pants and vest, neither would it be him these days without the mousy Natsumi trailing behind him. The redhead jostled with the man, apparently not pleased that he dragged her the whole way.

Asagi raised an eyebrow. "You haven't even shown your face since this story started, so forgive me if I say 'who the hell are you?'"

"What she said, except for serious!" Mao added.

"Shove it, nerd brains! I just haven't done anything notable on screen yet!" Kotaro countered.

"Well, Kotarou, we're about to go to Evil Academy  _right now_ ," Negi explained. "I hope you packed your bags."

Natsumi paled. The redhead squeaked, "I've done no such thing!"

"Awww crap," Kotarou sighed. Natsumi was never prepared for moves like this. How come she couldn't just go like she was? The halfling wolf was just fine wearing the clothes on his back. "C'mon, I'm sure there's some cheap place to get some more supplies down there!"

"No way! Last time that happened, I got hit by unexpected slavery!"

"But if we don't hurry up, we'll get left behind!"

"Guys," as if he had been there the whole time and not just appeared from a portal of darkness a few minutes ago, Cygnus spoke up. "The portal's not gonna close. We're just powering it so you don't have to waste magic."

The bickering duo paused, exchanged glances, then immediately chorused, "We'll catch up." Natsumi then immediately bolted off, shouting back, "C'mon, we don't want to give them too much of a head start!"

Kotarou sighed. "Man..."

"Please take care," Nodoka waved them away. "And don't french kiss for too long!" She deftly ignored the complaints and evaded the half-hearted shadow blasts coming in her direction.

Yue sighed in sadness. Had Haruna actually influenced her, or had she merely rid the bookworm of her desires to keep her perversion to herself?

Annoyed, Mao hissed, "Can we get a move-on already? **!**  There are too many things which must be discovered in the name of SCIENCE!" That certainly got everyone's attention, albeit likely for all the wrong reasons. Mao, however, could give less damns than a tombstone over a dry spell. "Mwahahaha, your toughest days are yet to come."

"You act like that's supposed to scare us," Asuna said drolly. She crossed her arms. "Not a chance in hell, and it sounds like that's where we're going." She turned to Negi, looked more ready than ever. "You don't even count, you've already been!"

"Well, sorry!" Negi put his hands up in surrender. "But, look on the bright side, we're all going to have our first big adventure in a long time—together." Asuna reared back in surprise from those words, stunned that Negi was actually putting a bit of faith in his partners WITHOUT having it smacked into him first. Negi, however, only answered that with a look that said 'I'm not THAT stupid'.

"So let's go then!" Mao urged again, still anxious. "Let's get this party started already!"

Ala Alba nodded amongst each other, and began to step down towards the portal.

As Asagi approached, she couldn't help but shiver—she was feeling uncomfortable for some reason, and not just because she was heading back to a familiar yet crazy world.

**X-X-X**

NEXT ARC PREVIEW: BAKA RANGERS VS. KONOKA SENTAI HEAL BRAVER

"How could you, Konoka?! No, HEAL BRAVER?!" Baka Red cried, doing obnoxious poses every other syllable. "Has your time under the clutches of KING ZEGNANT XVII truly corrupted you?"

"Hmph, I am nowhere near as corrupt as you have imagined!" Heal Braver responded. "The world cannot be seen in the black and white view you hold. For one, I must remove the madness of Zegnant's will, and that can only be done by committing the EVILEST ACT EVER."

"...it's obvious you're overhyping this, but okay," Baka Black muttered, before receiving looks from the other rangers. "...oh. Err, I mean," She began her ridiculous poses with her lines. "We cannot allow you to commit such an act, HEAL BRAVER!"

"Baka Blue... Ninja ATTAAAAAACK!" Baka Blue said, still pulling more ridiculous poses before she formed her hand like a spear. However, the attack's effectiveness was lost with her telegraphing her intentions, and Heal Braver blocked the attack with her white sword, perfectly pulled out of nowhere. "What?!"

"Your attacks don't work on me," Heal Braver stated plainly.

"How can this be? **!** " Baka Yellow cried, with her own terrible poses.

"But she hasn't accounted for me, Baka Pi—" Baka Pink started to say, but a gigantic foot crushed her in the middle of her speech. The mask fell off, revealing that Pink wasn't even Makie, but Ayaka. "How does she even tolerate this? **!** " she wailed under the foot.

Said foot belonged to... Prierezilla. Who roared mightily, scaring the pants out of everyone else.

"This was... what I was talking about!" Heal Braver said, dropping into a fighting stance.

"Will the day be saved by Ninja Effort Gorrillian? **!** " Flonne cried in panic.

"I sure hope we show up in the next arc!" Laharl grumped.

"You guys are pretty funny," The thin and black-haired Nami laughed, not caring about the possessive hug Iza held her in. "I hope the real show is this good."

 **Next time on KONOKA SENTAI HEAL BRAVER: School Wars Arc!**  Get Ready to be  _schooled_.

x-x

**From the Ozonne reports:**

**Name:**  Mao

 **Age:**  1579

 **Gender:**  Male

 **Class:**  Dean Overlord

 **Notable Characteristics:**  White-haired lunatic that wears a red coat like a cape. Has glasses. Mwahahas a lot—for SCIENCE. Will not let you forget about his 1.8 MILLION Evil Quotient.

 **Affiliation:**  Dean of Evil Academy, Ala Alba (observer)

 **Background:**  Mao was born to the previous dean of Evil Academy and a yet unknown mother figure. His mother disappeared shortly after his birth, though reports are that every once in a while he gets friendly visits from the Erinyes. Mao was given heaping amounts of allowance, but he blew most of it on video games, like the true nerd he is. Concerned by this, his father introduced him to Raspberyl, a young lady aspiring to be a world class delinquent. Naturally, a rivalry was formed.

He worshiped super heroes, so 201 years ago, when his clumsy dad had crushed his game system by accident, he was put in a bad mood—so when a super hero whirled around, he arrogantly told the passing man his father's weaknesses, not expecting the man to win (and hey, free autograph)! Too bad that, because Mao was in the vicinity, the hero DID win. Furious, Mao unlocked his inner rage.

The man that defeated his father, Super Hero Aurum, saw potential in him, and raised him to be an evil overlord, so as to be his ultimate opponent.

Fast forward to last year, where, thanks to a self-loathing induced memory wipe, Mao declared that he must defeat his father, and as such, needed to become a hero. His butler, Geoffrey aided him in his task, sparking delinquent outcry everywhere, including Beryl. The school's PTA attempted to retaliate the surge of delinquency, but because they made the mistake of kidnapping Beryl, Mao crushed them. Conflicted by his inner turmoil and his loathing of the "hero title", he and his vassals romp about Mao's mind to make him gain more power and to figure out why Mao is so grouchy. In the end, though, Mao discovered that Aurum was behind his father's death and distrust of humans, and swore to destroy the human world in revenge. His buddies stopped that, and Mao turned his rage to Aurum, defeating him and sentencing him as a permanent guinea pig.

Over the past year, Mao has been looking at the business end of Evil Academy, looking for more teachers and expanding its grounds. That was when Beryl told him of the new Overlord on the block, and then he got summoned by Hakase...

 **Abilities:**  Mao is a high level demon, but unlike most, he isn't adverse to technology. Mao uses frightening star-based magic, using the power of darkness and light to create moves strangely based off of manga and video games. He's also uses mad scientist techniques and technology—being dissected in the middle of battle is not a pleasant experience. A call for vengeance makes him strangely stronger.

 **Evility:**  Violent Courage: Attack power increases the more foes are on stage.

_**CLASSIFIED** _

**Evil Quotient:**  1.8 Million (because it hasn't been said enough times)

 **Eldritch Form:**  Vasa Aergun

 **Notes:**  Was once summoned by Chigusa Amagasaki, who was drawing for a familiar. He was the strongest demon she summoned, but as he was too busy playing video games at the time, she dismissed him. For reference, he classifies Konoka's Evil Quotient at about a -43.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now caught up. Enjoy. A future chapter will arrive soon enough.


	19. Chapter 18: Invitation of a Crazed Mao

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WELCOME TO EVIL ACADEMY!
> 
> ...try to stay alive, Ala Alba.

Mwaaahahahaha! This is your mad scientist Deuteragonist Mao speaking! Why am I narrating? Because SCIENCE, THAT'S WHY. (And by science, he means Sonic Adventure (2))

No seriously, I'm thinking it's about that time you have an update on the story so far.

An  _amusingly insignificant_  girl, as beautiful but generic as they come, was stabbinated three years ago, casting her away from the magical construct the mage humans refer to as the "Magical World" and sending her into the land in between life and death called "Gehenna". Those years passed, and she woke up a little less than a month ago.

Her name is Konoka Konoe, and she is the next great undertaking of my research!

It seems that during her career so far, she isn't used to the power of an overlord—struggling against Lunzard Torque's pitiful machine, battling minions of the sweet-maker Sir Sweet... it wasn't until she was reunited with forgotten classmate Satsuki Yotsuba that she put the subtle shrewdness that kept the late Setsuna wrapped around her finger to use and beat Sir Sweet at his own game. Even then, she was still unprepared for the remains of the Dark Assembly of Gehenna, known as Ars Goetia, to emerge, charging her with the crime of slaughtering their peers—but the real kicker was that she was responsible for her girlfriend's death in the process! Only some talking to from Satsuki managed to snap her out of it long enough to prevent her untimely demise as a sand-wich (and YES, I will feed upon the agony you suffer from that terrible pun).

In the meantime, while she decided to expand Ars Goetia as penance, I, the great genius of Evil Academy, was drawn to Mahora by one Satomi Hakase. How fortunate that my newest minion was quick on the draw enough to draw the attention of Negi Springfield and his pals in Ala Alba—to me, that is. You know what they say—even if you  _can_  beat them, join 'em anyway, which is what I did!

My old rival Beryl, who had since decided to join forces with the new girl on the block, reported to me that Konoka's not playing with a full deck, and could be in danger. So alongside Negi, I went to go investigate her Heart—a secret and perhaps illegal trip inside her mind—it was there that we learned that her dearest girlfriend had holed herself up there, and was partially responsible for her friend's mental issue—alongside my newest minion, and a sudden attack on the physical front due to a dangerous fallen angel.

We only learned about this Imamiah when we got back, thanks to a report from Beryl. Knowing that our time was limited, I've summoned Ala Alba to my humble stomping grounds—it's here that my latest experiment will judge if they're worthy enough to rescue the yuri girlie, who by the way, has actually hatched a scheme of supposed great evil on her own! But who knows if she'll be any good at it—and furthermore, who knows anything about these... Erinyes? Inquiring minds  _must know_!

I can't  _wait_  to see the fireworks!

* * *

"Hey... Nami?" Iza's voice came up, disturbing the dark-skinned angel's rest.

"Yeah?" she answered, not minding a bit—they were close together after all.

"Don't you think Mia's changed?"

That got a pause. It had been a while since they had really reflected on their old friend and current leader—the former princess of Gehenna, Imamiah. Of those who worked with her, it was the two of them who had been with her the longest. And indeed, her latest actions had been a hair strange, even for the playful and often indirect master of karma. But she needed a bit of clarification. "What do you mean?"

"Well..." Iza tilted her head one way, then another, almost mechanically. "She's less straightforward than she used to be. I wonder if all of her time playing coy has made her... actually more like that?"

Nami mulled it over. Sure 'Mia had her issues, but really, she knew the heart of Iza's concern was the woman's recent crush on that overlord, considering said woman was the biggest roadblock for them having the kingdom back. But thinking about it...

The woman laughed. "Awww come on! The more things change, the more they stay the same. We know 'Mia's gonna use her as a throne puppet. Just because she's getting more roundabout in her approach doesn't mean she's not going laser beam on her goals as usual."

"I still worry, though..."

Alas, their private time was interrupted with a sharp knock at the door.

Nami's grunt of irritation was lost to the muffled but loud "Heeeey! I hope you're decent in there!" Apparently, that was Etna.

Fortunately, neither was naked, as a few moments later, Etna strode right on in. "I've got a question~"

The annoyed angels rose. "Spill it," Nami hissed.

"Geez! No need to get so hostile!" Etna said, her voice insincere. Not caring when their expressions didn't change, Etna smoothly continued. "You know, I was wondering why all of the small fry outside are panicking. Is the boss getting mad about one of her plans failing?"

"'Mia... is not that kind of boss," Iza stared coldly at Etna. "You can hold off such comparisons."

"You should remember then," Etna's smile became just as cold. "Your boss is not my boss." And thus the two of them stared at each other intently, daring the other to make a move. Iza towered over Etna, but the latter held no emotion over that fact.

Nami, on the other hand, blithely paid their staredown little attention and strolled right on by, opening the door and peeking outside. "Hmmm?" And moments later, she reared back and paled. "Oh boy."

"Eh?" Etna completely forgot about Iza, wondering if Nami had validated her.

"She's back." was Nami's only answer.

"Who?"

"Wait, you mean—" Iza stepped past Etna and peeked out the door on top of Nami. She also paled.

"Aww come on, don't leave me out of this!" Etna complained loudly before trying to open the door wider and failing, as one of the fallen angels had kept it squeezed partially shut out of fright. So to her annoyance, Etna was forced to peek even lower.

Out in the regal foyer, she saw... Mei. She remembered seeing her briefly during the mayhem of that Dark Assembly meeting a few days ago. She wasn't especially intimidating back then, but here? Despite her expression being as stoic as ever, her aura was far more intense, and it seemed that everything in her path was... getting cleaned.

In rather creative and astonishing ways.

Her hands moved so fast that they were a blur. Floors, fragile vases, and even hapless minions were cleaned without thought or remorse. All this while she slowly paced towards the other side, getting closer to the room Iza and Nami shared.

With a squeak of horror, Nami pulled Etna and Iza back in and shut the door, but by then it was too late. Before she could even move to lock it, the door, blasted open. Mei's calm but unamused eyes locked on the lovebird duo immediately. "Still dirty, I see." She swept a look over at their room, mostly in disarray.

"W-what are you talking about?" Nami stuttered. "Just because we were—"

"N-no, we were not—" Iza also began at the same time.

Etna watched, completely stunned, as Mei lunged forward, and those devastatingly quick hands began to clean nearly everything in sight. Iza and Nami both shrieked, but those hands reduced them to nothing in less than seventeen seconds. Just a minute later, the entire room was completely clean—Etna quickly wondered what kind of demon actually  _cleaned_  things with such ruthless efficiency.

_I have to get out of here!_  Etna complained mentally, looking at the sagging and completely defeated Iza and Nami.  _This woman is a_  monster!

The door swung open again. The white-haired Imamiah stepped in, her smile wide. "Ah, Mei! Nice to see you've returned!"

Once again, Mei's smile was slight, but visible, even with her heavy bow. "I'm glad to have returned to service, mistress. It seems those two still can't keep clean, as usual."

"Those two don't change too much through the years," Imamiah dismissed with a laugh. She calmed herself, however. "So, what is that adorable little overlord up to?"

Mei answered, "It seems that she yearns to commit the evilest act ever, in order to put a stop to her fate. She believes the Demon Research Institute is the best place to do so."

Imamiah chuckled lightly. "Ah, the young miss is so adorable... naturally though, we can't have her succeeding." the fallen heir's wings flapped lightly. "I imagine Ars Goetia put her up to the task, yes? Due to their mandate? That makes our goal awfully clear."

"Really?" Etna queried, catching Imamiah's attention. "What's that?"

It was quite noticeable that Imamiah held no regard for her until she spoke, and yet here she had Imamiah's full attention. It kinda felt like  _Baal_  had noticed her. "If the overlord can't launch evil on her own, and is merely moving on the suggestion of Ars Goetia, wouldn't it be good for us to prove as concerned fallen angels and demons that such a relationship is terribly flawed?"

"Sort of like an overlord being a puppet to their Dark Assembly?" Etna decided to clarify, to see where Imamiah was going.

"Exactly."

Etna gave a sly grin. "But aren't you plotting to do the same thing?"

"Unlike those bureaucratic fools, I have her best interest at heart. Ars Goetia will as soon use her than toss her aside the moment she tries to defy them. Better my pet than their slave. I have a kingdom to save, playing a little cruel to save that mired young miss is part of it."

Etna shrugged. While she wondered about the fate of that overlord, it didn't concern her unless Imamiah got bolder once her plan succeeded. Still, it was a mental note and one worth passing to Laharl once she got the chance.

"We'll move to Demon Research Institute at once!" the leader crowed.

"Hmhmhmhmhm, I thought that might happen," Mei announced with a soft chuckle. "So I've managed to open a dimension gate."

By that time, it seemed Iza and Nami actually recovered, and the latter blinked as she murmured, "Oh 'Mia? You're already running off again?"

"Of course. I need to stretch my wings," Imamiah answered. "Why do you ask?"

"You know, with us actually making noise again after so long, I'm wondering if a certain overlord in Evil Academy might remember us," Nami hopped on her feet gracefully, not making even the softest of noises. It also meant she missed the slight reaction on Mei's face. "I'd love to swoop by and annoy him."

* * *

"WELCOME to Evil Academy!" Declared the white haired Mao, his glasses glistening ever-so-threateningly. That never got old.

Here, in the central foyer of the Academy's main tower, steps swathed the walls, leading every which way. What wasn't covered by stairs was a clear view into the moonlit sky. It was the perfect backdrop to the lone, giant chalkboard standing in the middle, perfectly illuminated. In that room, there were a gathering of humans and demons, with most of the important ones staring at Mao.

"You said that last time," Negi Springfield pointed out, tilting his head in confusion.

"Lest you forget, you were the  _only person here_  last time," a certain red-head countered, shooting Negi a look. Asuna Kagurazaka continued, "We're still surprised you told us this time."

"Only because you'd never let him get away with it." The tiny, cool but no less menacing Evangeline gave Asuna a casual glance.

There were many others of Ala Alba here but other than mutterings among each other, they didn't get a chance to add to that before the dean of evil continued. "As I've explained to you enough times to break your scouters, this place is a school—but unlike  _yours_ , wasting time on things like reading and  _'rithmetic_ , we here at Evil Academy learn the finer points of rottenness. Things like skipping class, causing mayhem in the hallways and food fights are encouraged. It's the freedom of doing whatever you want, so long as it drives the evil in your heart," As the humans exchanged looks, Mao continued. "In this rough and tumble world, demons can not only learn the shenanigans of evil, but grow stronger in an environment where such mayhem is cultivated! It does wonders for experiments!"

Eventually though, someone's logic wouldn't let them bother with that. "Are you sure about that?" Came the voice of one Yue Ayase. The short young lady with a droll expression raised an eyebrow. "If they don't attend classes, then how do they learn how to be evil, or a demon?"

"Environmental osmosis!" Mao immediately supplied. "And who cares, so long as they manage to pay tuition."

That sent Yue and the others to mull it over, and the logic still didn't click. However, Haruna Satome, her antenna-like hair twitching in excitement, reached a startling conclusion. "So nobody cares beyond tuition! It's a place that fosters nothing but mischief and laziness! Then that means—"

"The demons here are going to be much stronger, now that they're not beholden to the summoning laws of your silly human worlds!" Mao crowed, crushing any hope of Haruna's revelation seeing the light of day. "No doubt if you hope to face the challenges of this world and rescue that little yuri healer of yours, you're going to need to be strong enough to survive this school. After all, demons and humans will be seeing each other more often if what I think is happening actually  _does_."

"You seriously think there's gonna be political unrest from this?" Evangeline raised her eyebrow.

"Mwahahahaha, I don't just think, I  _know_. And there's gonna be loads of science to prove it!"

"Experiments?" Mao wasn't the only person with an arousal towards experimentation. While she had not been a heavy player in the core of Ala Alba, Satomi Hakase, Mahora's local mad scientist, had been more or less turned on by the recent developments of their adventure. Her glasses glistened almost threateningly, almost enough to give Mao a run for his money.

"But of course! And I'm gonna start with you people, with the perfect way to toughen you up in time! Now, if you want me to actually send you to Gehenna, where your healer is currently trapped, all you need to do is find me and defeat me... in any one challenge of my choosing!"

Ala Alba exchanged glances.

"I'd hate to ruin their optimism, but..." Mao's current dark-skinned assistant, Cygnus, stepped forward. "Doesn't that mean you could throw nearly anything at them?"

"Hyahyahya!" Hands on his hips and laughing boldly, Mao's more steadfast vassal Mr. Champloo interrupted him. "But the onus of coming up with the challenge is on Mao. The moment the human heroes learn the recipe, his advantage is gone! Boom!"

"Gaaauuughh, don't give it away like that!" Mao complained shortly. "As a matter of fact, you!" He pointed at his vassal. "And you! You! And you too!" He pointed to Negi, Eva, and Cygnus as well. "You're not allowed to help them except in dire emergencies. Like other overlord level demons. Anything lesser, up to and including demon-lord level foes, will now be handled by them." And he harrumphed and turned up his nose. "You can be like, optional bosses or living hint systems if you want," he quickly added as an aside.

Still grinning, Mr. Champloo shrugged. "Sure thing."

"H-hey!" Asagi Asagiri objected. "I'm strong, too!" The dark-haired gunner with the white coat did not look pleased, considering she had been hanging out with Mao not a year ago.

"Sure you are!" Mao countered, his grin returning. "But are you...  _main character material_?!" That stunned Asagi into silence.

"That was  _cold_ ," Haruna muttered.

"Mwahahahaha! I'm sure a little time with you guys will warm her up!" Mao crowed. The demons, those Mao decreed were Not Allowed To Help(tm), began to step back from the rest of the group. "I'm done here. I expect you people to still be alive by the time you come up with a good strategy to find me!"

With a salute, Champloo flipped away out of a window.

With a sinister grin, Cygnus burst away in the opposite direction.

Negi took a deep breath, sighed, and gave a weary smile. "It's not that bad, girls. Really," It sounded like he was partially trying to convince himself as well. "And I suppose that this snoozing little guy might be of help too," he dug in his shirt pocket, pulled out a certain white ermine. Chamo, who was snoozing away, paid no heed to being tossed to Asuna, who caught him in her hands (no way was she letting him get anywhere near her chest). "If you find me, I'll help you tour around. I'm not too familiar with this place, but please... stick together if you can." And he traveled down a flight of stairs to disappear as well.

Eva stayed put, but she was busy examining a strange dagger.

"Mwaaaaahahahaha! Enjoy your own Metroidvania!" Mao too, headed in the opposite direction of Negi, and disappeared upstairs, deeper into the tower where they were enshrined. With that, Ala Alba stood mostly alone.

* * *

For a while, she had been silent. Then, ever so slowly, her rage began to bubble upward. "No way... to think he left me here just because I wasn't the main character?! But those other demons weren't main characters either, aside from Negi!"

"Maybe you should consider that they're even stronger?" Nodoka Miyazaki answered with her soft voice. The purple-haired girl had just stopped sorting through her bunny-shaped backpack. Asagi merely stewed in her anger, not yet ready.

Asuna sighed, shaking her head with an exasperated smile. "Not even five minutes in, and we're already in a stupid divide and conquer game. At least it's not like the gateport where we got forcibly separated."

"So what's the first move?" Yue asked.

Asuna looked at most gathered around her. "Get our bearings straight. Don't we need to know our way around this place?"

That was met with murmurs and agreement.

However, something crossed the gathered heroines' minds. They looked over to see that Evangeline had not actually left.

"What are you staring at, Eva-chan?" Kazumi Asakura asked. Being ever so curious, the redhead had slipped closer to Evangeline. She would have surprised a lesser person.

Lifting the strange dagger she held, Eva answered simply. "I'm impressed. If what that nerd-for-brains said was true, I might actually get something out of this." Being Eva, she already noticed the others staring at her, but only now did she move to acknowledge this. "This is but an ordinary dagger for now, but what if I told you that there were foes in every item worth fighting?"

"Really?" the tall Kaede Nagase asked. "How does that work?"

Eva was still frowning. "Not quite sure. Something about an item world..."

Having stood still perfectly for a while, their was a mild reaction when Eva's stalwart servant Chachamaru finally moved. "I believe I can answer that, mistress," the green-haired android opened up a tiny cassette-tape-like device. "I took this from Mao after I was forced to use defensive maneuvers." The collection of blank and unsurprised stares told everyone all they needed to know about why she said 'defensive maneuvers'. "I believe it should explain the concept of an item world."

While certainly human in self-awareness, if there was any doubt that Chacharmaru was an android (after her fin ears), it was crushed when she loaded the tape into a device on her back, and let the display project onto the smooth chalkboard. The group circled in close as the screen flared to life, and they could recognize Mao as he stepped back from the front of the screen.

"Mwaaaaaahahahaha! I figured you might run into this! So I've decided to give you a little instructional video about the might of  _an item world_." It was quintessential Mao—grandstanding, ranting about something, and looking as dubiously knowledgeable as possible. "So you are aware that there are a multitude of items to help you on this quest, but were you ever aware that you can actually make these items stronger? Indeed, every item useful in battle (and a few that aren't) can be explored. Just talk to your local item guide, and they'll open the gate to any item nobody's got equipped. Fight your way through strong enemies and strange looking areas in order to reach the hundredth floor, where the strongest demon in that item awaits. Often, they might even be strong enough to give that vampire a challenge!"

Eva huffed. This was what she was curious about.

"Happy item leveling! Oh, and watch out for those crazy geo panels. Better hope you figure them out before those opposing demons figure  _you_ out." And with one last laugh, the video shut off.

The band of ladies exchanged looks.

"Sounds like it's the best option we got to see how far we've come, right?" Haruna eventually said.

"Sure thing," Asuna wound her arms. "Can't hurt to also see what we're up against on average."

"Asagi-san, you've been to these item worlds before, haven't you?" Nodoka asked.

The gunner blinked before Nodoka's question registered. "B-but of course!" She immediately sprang to life. "I've been through this whole song and dance! I know what this place is like! I'll show that lunatic who's worthy of the main character title!"

"Try not to overdo it," Ku Fei, much like Asuna, was stretching muscles. "You'll mess up like pulling a tendon, and it will kill you when you least want it to." She turned to Chisame Hasegawa, who was still rubbing her temples over the terrible logic that swarmed this place. "There was a term for that, right? Murphy's Oil, they called it?"

"Murphy's  _Law_ ," Chisame Hasegawa corrected sharply, adjusting her glasses. "And I just know it's gonna bite us all in the ass sooner or later." She paused. "Did that super creep even say how we were supposed to get in—or rather, who the hell is supposed to be the 'item guide'?" When nobody responded, she sighed. "Looks like it's up to me then."

As if remembering something, Yue pulled out her pactio card. "I can at least help. Adeat." The enchanted encyclopedia, Orbis Sensualium Pictus, flared to life at her fingertips. She let her lips upturn slightly—how long had it been since she was able to use her pactio? She had spent a lot of time training under the Ariadne school, she rarely had a use for looking for the more obscure or encompassing factoids her book represented. She began to seek information about the item world and much to her surprise, did find information on its unlock spell on MahoNet. "Hmm..." Yue perused the information her book said, and gave Chisame a cursory look. "Actually, I think your artifact  _can_  activate gates into items."

Chisame raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes." Yue didn't falter or change expression.

Chachamaru moved, giving a bow to the reluctant internet idol. "We are in your care, item guide."

Flustered by Chachamaru's almost usual by now gestures, Chisame bellowed, "Don't push me into this!" Admittedly, she let the light giggling from the other students slide.

Asagi, in an attempt to call attention to both herself and the task at hand, stamped her foot. "Alright, are we ready?"

This got raised eyebrows from a few people. "Who died and made you the leader?" Yue asked, staring at Asagi impassively.

"I don't see any blood trail from the fourth wall yet," Haruna added.

"Ummm..." The poor starlet was already in a corner.

"Well, if she knows the place, let her lead," Asuna, arms crossed, spoke up, gathering everyone's attention. "After all, of those of us here, she's the only one who's run around this place enough to figure it out. So let her do it."

The rest of Ala Alba exchanged looks. Asuna did tend to delegate responsibilities a lot, but then again Asuna had been scarily logical as of late—even aware of her own stupidity at times. In the end, they couldn't find any good reason to oppose it, and simply agreed.

Knowing that her spotlight had not been ruined, Asagi breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew." She looked at Evangeline. "You can't help, can you?"

Eva looked up coolly. "Wouldn't even if I could."

Asagi shrugged. "Welp! No stronger types stealing the spotlight!" With Chisame grumbling as she fiddled with her scepter and prepared the gate to the item world, Asagi continued her self-cheerleading. "Training montage of the Main Characters,  _here I come_!"

* * *

In the tallest part of the tower, illuminated only faintly by the moonlight, Mao shoved the door open to his room. As he strode towards his computer, a summon circle flared to life on his right, and a tall, dead-skinned man appeared, his suit crisp and immaculate, his mustache curly, his head lowered in a perfect, butler like bow. "Welcome back, young master." croaked this man. "Your computer is ready."

"This job has really suited you over the years, hasn't it, Geoffrey?" Mao answered, taking a seat on his swivel chair and turning around momentarily to stare at his butler.

Mildly surprised that Mao had his eyes on him, Geoffrey raised an eyebrow. Before he shed this guise as Aurum, Mao would normally ignore him beyond his usual appreciation. Now he was studying him, much like his numerous experiments (nevermind the fact that he was and still IS one of those experiments). "You could say that, young master. My choice over the matter has waned."

Despite it being a guise worn by the fallen Super Hero Aurum, Geoffrey's persona had been too useful for Mao to leave entirely. "So it should. You wanted to raise an overlord, you're going to live (and serve) long enough to see those results firsthand." Only now did he whirl back to his computer, his fingers dancing madly over the keys as he called up the command line to run his latest batch of programs. Geoffrey had hacked some security systems created by the Perfectly Trained Assassins; his goal was now to monitor them, as well as see what else was going on with the academy. "Mwahahahaha! I can now spy upon the entirety of the academy, and track the process of those interesting little humans!"

"May I suggest the figurative twirling of the mustache?" Geoffrey posited.

"Already way ahead of you," Mao breathed heavily; he could already feel the drool forming over his tongue. "I could totally pull this off like an oppressive government!"

"But that's not your aim, is it, young master?" Geoffrey asked.

Mao paused. Even when plotting and scheming, Geoffrey never questioned him like this. But what could he really do about it? Much of the reason for his paranoia with humanity had already been neutralized from this person. Even if it was a new scheme, he knew first hand that attempting to crush him even more than now would only make him stronger. So he kept it simple. "Still can't comprehend my genius, can you? Don't worry, I don't blame you. I have a lot more on my plate than to simply gloat. I've been studying the evil overlord list after all!" He looked across the numerous monitors. "No doubt there has to be some news or activity worth checking."

"Well understood, master."

* * *

Chisame almost felt it when she saw the warp panel open up, and her adventuring classmates returned. Leading the pack was Asagi, who looked mildly miffed, followed by the rest of Ala Alba, who were most notably tired and weirded out. "T-that was supposed to be my big break, and all of it happened off screen?! Who writes this crap?!" Asagi wailed.

"Do I even want to know what you're complaining about?" Chisame responded, her voice annoyed and flat. "What the hell even happened down there?" She did notice, as the last of them escaped, that the small dagger that she had felt notably stronger.

Some members had reached their limit far sooner than others—the blond Ayaka Yukihiro was one of them. Catching her breath, she nevertheless still sounded smooth. "Now Asagi-san, I very much doubt that anyone would want to  _witness_  what we saw with that horrible shotgun of yours, let alone read about it."

"But that was my cool new attack! People would want to rip it off for decades!" Asagi continued to protest, her eyes twinkling with the idea of stardom.

"I'd think they'd rather rip out their eyes, but so long as the bad guys are doing it..."

Asuna sighed and shook her head. "What the hell kind of weirdness do you deal with everyday? I still can't comprehend how that mage type managed to keep us all at bay with just some coins and a freaking shoestring!"

"But that was your fault for walking right into that trap," Asagi pointed out.

"That was an interesting trap, at least," Kaede said. "I may never look at bulldozers the same way ever again."

"You know what? Forget I asked," Chisame said, shaking her head. "I think I'll go see what the internet is like in the demon world and forget all about your crazy item-diving adventures." And Chisame went to go find a desk to pull out her laptop at.

"Hey, where's Eva-chan?" Asakura asked.

"She's still in another item. Likely terrorizing all the demons on the bottom floor."

"Is this the best you can do?" Evangeline crowed, one foot pressed against the masses of defeated item world residents piled at her feet. Arms crossed, she stared down her lone standing opponent—a girl in a dress with red hair, dressed much like Eva herself. "I expected better from the deepest floors of the item world."

"So says the youngling vampire acting like she owns the place," the fire mage crackled with power, probably dwarfing Eva's previous opponents. "As the item god, allow me to crush you completely!" And with a roar that would scare saiyans, she let her power rage.

Eva didn't even care. She cackled madly and let her ice power and numerous Chachazero dolls speak for her.

"Not even surprised," Asuna muttered. "I hope she's all right."

"I think about now we need to collect a little more intel," Haruna said. "I mean, I'm almost sure Mao's just at the top floor, but knowing him he probably sealed his door and it won't open unless we find the five magical upgrades of doom. But the whole point is to prove that we're ready to survive anything that Gehenna throws at us, right? What's the best way to prove that?"

"This is one of those times I wished Negi stuck around," Asuna murmured. "We might be better as a team since last time, but our only other strategist is somehow still snoozing on the job." She gave an annoyed poke to the sleeping Chamo. He rolled over, murmuring something about panties, before resuming his snoring.

"Why don't you smack him awake or throw him on a wall?" Yue asked.

"Already tried smacking him. He couldn't have been tired from just one trip to the item world, right?" she stared at him some more, but Chamo just kept snoring.

However, to her surprise, her cell phone rang. Granted, the more chirp-like ring meant that someone was calling her via a radio function, but a signal? Here, in a different dimension? Who was calling her? Just a touch confused, Asuna answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Asuna." A gentle voice answered. "What luck, you're actually here."

"Brigitte, is that you?" She failed to hide the incredulity in her voice. Apparently, Yue too noticed, at attention from hearing the name of a Cosmo Entelecheia associate.

"Yes." The voice on the other end sounded calm. Brigitte, better known as Shirabe, was someone who had fought Ala Alba three years ago; she and the rest of the new age members operated under the belief that they were fighting for rescuing Mundus Magicus from a terrible fate. "Shiori and I came down here to do some research. The mana of the demon worlds is especially thick, and it could be the key to solving one of our main problems."

"Luna's here, too?" Asuna asked. Granted, she had made peace with Cosmo Entelecheia, and there was no nervousness in her voice, but she still had the tiniest bit of wariness around Luna, better known as Shiori, a mind reader with the ability to steal the identity of someone with a kiss. Asuna had been her specially tailored victim.

"Ah, yes," Shirabe sounded a little less certain. "Is it just you, or are your friends out here as well?"

"We're all out here," Asuna said. "Some particular demons have confirmed that Konoka's alive after all. We're gonna rescue her."

There was a pause, followed by a small noise of relief. "I'm glad of it. It seems to have improved your spirits as well."

"Yeah," there was a small smile on Asuna's face. "So, what did you want? I think I heard  _problems_  somewhere..."

"Ah, about that..." Shirabe began. It seemed she was about to speak some more before a piercing voice on a megaphone interrupted her.

" _Attention_ , dean of Evil Academy!" It was loud, sharp, and carried a distinct accent. It was enough to make most of Ala Alba to jump in surprise, and Asuna, having also picked it up from the phone, actually flinched violently. The building they were in shuddered as the voice boomed, "If you have the  _gall_  to spend all day doing disgusting things, then surely you can take a few moments to discuss some matters with me!"

As Asuna tried to recover from her ear drums screaming in agony, she looked outside. A large ship, perhaps about the size of one of the magical world's numerous whale warships, was slowly sliding into view, coming to a stop near the tower. Still holding the phone, she managed to make out a cry from Shirabe. " _Please! Help us before she turns Shiori into a masochist!_ "

"What?!" Safe to say, Asuna didn't understand a lick of that, and her idiocy had little to do with why.

"No slacking off!" came the voice, somehow still demanding and sharp without the microphone. And with that the phone clicked off.

With little expression, Asuna closed the phone. Alongside the others, she continued staring out at the massive ship, though she rose, seeing that there was a very high chance that Shirabe—and Shiori—were on that ship.

* * *

Mao twitched in irritation.

"Curse that vampire! They're not doing anything other than grinding along in item worlds!" Mao muttered. "And this school is still the same old boring as usual!"

A flash of a summon circle and Geoffrey appeared once more. "Perhaps you should... stir a little trouble, then?"

Mao looked thoughtful for a moment before sneering. "I really do think that you're terribly gifted in not playing fair. Mwahahahaha, perhaps I'll—"

His plotting, however, was cut short when a familiar sharp voice rang out from a microphone. " _Attention_ , dean of Evil Academy!"

"I think you should go get that, young master."

"Dammit!" Mao cursed in frustration. "AGAIN with the interruptions! I should have figured she'd come back." He stopped his hissing to step outside of his room and cross the hallway to one of the larger windows outside. A single finger to its middle knocked it straight open, causing the panes to slam against the castle walls. In one smooth motion, he was outside along the castle walls, calmly walking on the back of an outstretched gargoyle statue without worry about balance.

Greeting him outside was the monolithic gunship, coming to a stop mere inches from the edge of the castle. He scowled for a moment before his eyes found the ship's captain, and orchestrator of his most recent interruption. Salvatore, locking eyes with him instantly marched closer to the front of the ship. "Long time, no see." Even with the roar of the ship, Mao could easily make out her crisp voice.

"Whaddya want?! I'm conducting powerful experiments here!" He snapped.

"Hn," Salvatore adjusted her cap. "You should have a little more concern about the outside world! Haven't you been paying attention to the news? Gehenna is active once more."

Mao adjusted his glasses, sneering. He knew that, but he wasn't sure why Salvatore cared. "What of Gehenna? What makes that place special?"

Salvatore crossed her arms. "Gehenna, much like the Netherworld where Overlord Laharl comes from, acts as a gateway between it and the human world _s_. Yes, that is plural."

_WHAT._  Through some miracle, Mao managed to keep his surprise entirely sheathed.

"You didn't think the lovebirds from Veldime and that silly Earth Defense Force came from the same world, did you?"

Mao found that actually made sense, but he wasn't about to clue her in on his initial excitement. "Of course I knew that!" He upturned his nose, as if it would have some effect.

Salvatore gave him a clean look that said that she didn't believe a lick of that, but she kept going. "In any case, Gehenna is important now because it has recently changed overlord, and quite frankly, this upstart is already threatening the numerous worlds. It's given credence to a certain prophecy about that overlord."

"Since when did you care about any old prophecy?" Mao asked, still aware of what was going on, but otherwise wondering how knowledgeable Salvatore was. "Don't you remember that saying: 'If it ain't from Pram, it's obviously a sham'?!"

"I wouldn't be surprised if she had a hand in it," Salvatore answered coolly. "It's in our best interest to take the fight to this overlord before he or she really does obtain enough power to doom the Netherworld."

Mao paused. Salvatore didn't even know what gender the overlord was—but he now had a vague idea of what word on the street was. His grin returned, and it took all of his effort not to laugh. "What's that? I think it's  _you_  who's late to the party! I've already got a batch of interesting little humans who have someone at stake there!"

"Humans?" Salvatore blinked, before scoffing a moment later. "You're relying on mere humans to change the game?"

"Mwahahaha, you know what? Student Nominations are going on right now, why don't you play with them right down there and test out just how  _mere_  they are?" Hands open in a display of excitement, he huffed and puffed like his usual creepy science-y self. "Just don't break the pieces  _too_  much, because otherwise I and my pack of servants just might get angry."

"What?" Salvatore was confused by Mao's show of excitement, just as she noticed that in fact, there were a pack of humans visible from the HQ windows, and they had just noticed her ship.

"Safe to say that I know much more about the Gehenna situation than you might think," Mao boasted, "So go terrorize some new minions or something, I have experiments to run! Toodleloo!" And ignoring Salvatore's shouts, he waltzed right back into his room, shutting the window and his door.

* * *

Asuna's eyes locked with the ship hovering across from their location. As they were now, they didn't have much in the way of approaching the ship—that worked out considering the twin-tailed princess could make someone out on the top of the ship, apparently finishing a shouting match with... Mao?

"I  _knew_  he was up there!" Haruna commented. "No fair putting the final boss right on top of the starting point!"

"Why do I get the feeling that that's going to change too soon?" Nodoka asked meekly.

"I have half a mind to go complain to him right now, but..." Asuna began, but it seemed that after Mao blew off this woman, she turned her eye down to them. "Yeah, bigger problems."

"Oh. It's her again," Asagi muttered, arms crossed.

"Who?" Yue asked.

"She's Salvatore, one of the head honchos around here outside Mao. Pretty close to him in power, I'd say," she remarked casually. "She seems to be one of those militant types, perfect for masochists."

"Last time I checked, I'm not one of those," Yue pointed out.

"I'm... not sure she cares," Asagi looked up, but by that time Salvatore had landed, stepping in the open window and giving the group a thorough glance.

A palpable silence ensued before Salvatore spoke. "So I take it you are the humans Mao spoke of." In the span of two blinks, she was already in front of Asuna. Though frightening in her power, Asuna had hung around Evangeline and Mao for too long to get spooked by Salvatore's flash step. "Having been blown off, I am  _not_  in a good mood. I  _order_  you to give me one reason why I shouldn't just blast you to smithereens and train your Prinny'd souls up as a platoon."

Asuna crossed her arms, staring right back. "I only take orders from one demon, and it ain't you."

"Oohhhh, you're quite adamant for a human," Salvatore murmured, a predatory smile. However, she paused, and she examined Asuna a little more closely. "How about we put that to the test?" She stepped back, drawing up vast sums of mana. "Humans! We here at the Evil Institute welcome you!"

"We're almost done graduating here, so we'd rather not get sucked in, thanks," Chisame murmured.

Salvatore ignored her, however, her gathered power forming a massive golden gun. She took aim. "Class is in session. Try not to die."

Most of Ala Alba looked on in horror as the huge gun materialized. Asagi and Asuna, on the other hand, clenched their teeth and dropped into fighting stances. The heavy blast signified the gun's fire. Asuna had but a moment to draw up her sword and slash down, driven by pure desperate instinct.

Fortunately, despite the explosion, she saw the bullet practically melt between her sword, crashing (almost) harmlessly against the walls and evading her classmates (also protected by her magic canceling aura). She rose to a fighting stance again as Salvatore saw her attack had been blocked.

"As I thought.  _You're_  the princess they spoke of!" mild surprise was in her voice.

Asuna recognized her now—this woman had Brigitte and Luna captive?

"Step back!" the redhead heard Asagi shout, and she could hear her leap up. Asuna tilted her head slightly to dodge the green mace that sailed past her head and crashed into the ground, forcing Salvatore to flip backwards. Asagi landed, handguns drawn. "It's about to get cuh-rayzee, so everyone get out of here!"

"Just to let you know, you're not going to snatch main character status by looking cool," Haruna called out, even as she and several of the others heeded her advice and prepared to make a break for it.

"S-shut up!" Asagi complained. "It's not like I'm doing this because I only care about that!"

"Pay attention," Salvatore's voice was low and cold, heel raised high in the air to crash down on Asagi like a guillotine. By the time Asagi realized that the other had slipped in for a physical attack, she was too late.

Well, almost. Asuna charged through with a shoulder tackle, knocking Salvatore on her back for a brief enough moment that Asagi could escape her fate. "Go on! Everybody run!"

"Asuna!" Ayaka shouted sharply.

"We got this! We need to scope this place out and regroup somewhere safe!" Asuna bellowed, twirling to dodge a counterattack.

"But—"

" _Go_!"

With reluctance, the others immediately began to turn tail and run downstairs. Glances were stolen at Asuna and Asagi, but for the most part eyes were out on the windows, keeping wary of surprise attacks and demons as they made for a back door exit.

Taking a sigh of relief, Asuna put her focus back to Salvatore, who was now in a standoff with Asagi. She had worked with Asagi to trump a stronger foe before, perhaps luck (and a little planning) might bless her again. "You know me, right?" Asuna said, bringing her sword back to her front. "Care to explain why you've got my associates under your grasp? That's an affront to royalty, you know!"

* * *

Mao's ears picked up the sound of an explosion downstairs, and his room rumbled ever so slightly. Twitching in irritation, he griped, "Why is she trying to blow them to smithereens  _downstairs_?! I had those walls enforced sometime last year!" His annoyance grew, however, when he then heard the door burst open. Geoffrey wouldn't have such a disgraceful entrance, so he chalked that up to precisely one person.

"I figured you'd be back here. What do you want?" Mao hissed at Beryl as she skidded to a stop to catch her breath. "I'm busy experimenting. Go away (for now)!"

"Mao, listen! It's gonna be bad! Real bad!" She looked up at him, her face etched in urgency and worry. "It's not looking good for Gehenna! We need to get a move on! Like five hours ago!"

Mao wasn't impressed with her attitude, not knowing her to be someone who'd bug him for solutions like this. She would have put her own solution to work. Then again, it looked more like that she was going to try to drag him out to act as "muscle" instead. But opting to humor her, he looked on. "Really. How bad?"

"Mao, Konoka went crazy!" She stressed. "You got my letter about how Ars Goetia said Konoka had to be evil, right? But now she's going to commit the evilest act  _ever!_ She's gotta be stopped for her own good!"

Mao paused. It seemed that Beryl's revelation may have been why the ever antsy Salvatore was on the move again. He let that run through his head for a moment. Konoka. Going to do the evilest thing ever. Causing the demon world at large to panic.

And then he laughed. "PffftAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Beryl clinched her teeth. " _Mao_. I'm serious! And besides, that's not your trademark laugh."

"Oh. Whoops." A beat. "Wait, you're serious? Let me laugh even harder. MWAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Beryl shook her head, burying her face in her palm. "And here I was hoping you'd have some secret delinquency weapon. Konoka's stronger than you think."

Mao stopped his laughter. "You're right, but probably not for the reason you're thinking. I know what she's like—from her friends, and from you. Tell me, do YOU think she's capable of the types of rotten evil you'd see from someone like Aurum?" When Beryl shook her head, he continued, "The fact that you don't trust that makes you pretty sad for a delinquent," he smirked. "Of course, she could be tempted by the power of the honor student. Maybe she should be MY understudy instead!"

Beryl crossed her arms. "Likely story, Mao. Still, as a delinquent, it's my job to keep her from going down that path, even if she's bad at it!" She stared up evenly at Mao. "In any case, she said she was going to—"

Mao's eye caught movement outside. His sudden look stopped Beryl in her tracks, and she followed where he was looking.

Outside, there was a comet soaring down to the earth. With a sudden and violent crash, it hit one of the distant, abandoned towers, and more crashes could be heard as, whatever that thing was, smashed all the way down to the tower's core.

* * *

Negi paused, listening to the sound of a crash nearby. Normally, he'd only take note of the noise and ignore it if nothing else unusual happened—violence was the norm around here. But somehow, the chilling silence afterward told him that he needed to pay a visit. He turned around and sprinted upwards to get a better look on what happened.

* * *

"Wah!" The crash had startled a young lady out of her worried reverie.

This navy-haired girl, dressed in a sailor's shirt and short shorts, quickly looked beyond the rooftops she was on. It seemed that something had slammed down on one of the many school towers. "This place is pretty violent..."

But something about it made her curious. Moving onward, she gave a quick scratch to one of her cat-like ears before walking towards the tower, ignoring any and all adages about curiosity killing the cat(girl).

* * *

The two of them stared, stunned, as dust spread from the holes and shattered windows.

"W-what was that?" Beryl ventured. "Shouldn't we check that out?"

Mao paused for a moment. "No."

"What?! Why not?!"

"Because it's  _not our job_. Let's leave it to my  _newest_  team of subjects." He grabbed the nearby P.A microphone, smiling deviously. Regardless of where they were, they'd hear it. "My dearest human peons of Ala Alba! I think one of our buildings is under attack! I think it's high time you get enough upgrades to  _go check it out_!"

**X-X-X**

From the Ozonne Files

**Name:**  Geoffrey/Super Hero Aurum

**Age:**  Unknown, but at least 1000

**Gender:**  Male

**Class:**  Super Hero → Evil God → Atoning Butler

**Notable Characteristics:**  As a butler, Geoffrey has this clean, impeccable head surrounded by gray hair, and a sharply kept suit (and glasses to boot). The super hero, on the other hand, has flowing hair and robes, built much like an ancient Roman hero. Both forms, however, have graying skin. Frightening, considering his history.

**Affiliation:**  Evil Academy (Butler/Guinea Pig)

**Background:**  A once young and powerful hero type who hailed from a rising kingdom called Estegloria. Yearning for "fights that move justice", he met Imamiah around a thousand years ago. During the great strife, Aurum was granted the abilities to absorb pieces of slain overlords, as a mark against their growing greed.

Aurum, however, was not immune to that greed, or at least greed itself.

His fame from protecting Estegloria and smashing the numerous Overlords reached him, especially as they (somehow) produced comic series and action figures that spread far and wide. It was enough to unsettle even Mei and Imamiah back then. Struck between his fame and his lust for power, Imamiah foretold that his lust for the former would be his undoing. And as he slowly found—death escaped him. The people's yearning for his fame and his own power rendered him a wight.

Imamiah abandoned him completely when he slew Mao's father, unimpressed. Left with that, and Mao under attack, he resolved to raise Mao as the perfect opponent—to return the fame he yearned for, or die trying.

However, Mao defied him. Alongside a young man named Almaz, he acted contrary to his manipulations, even rising above the hate stirred inside him. Upon his defeat, Aurum experienced remorse for the first time. Seeing that, perhaps that was why Mao refused to let him die. Even now, he is at conflict between this remorse and his previous nature.

**Evility:**  Hero's Authority: Increased Magical Power the more enemies he faces.

**Abilities:**  As a butler, Geoffrey has impeccable timing, able to predict the needs of Mao and his constituents and satisfy them, often before he can even ask the question. Of course, it was once part of his ruse to make Mao suspicious, but Mao merely rolled with it. The hero of injustice, on the other hand, bears frightening power, and the ability to absorb parts of high level demons and use their powers after purifying them. As he is both undead and of the non-rotting persuasion, Aurum is extremely hard to kill and won't be going anywhere without inner piece—and Mao's say so.

_**CLASSIFIED** _

**Those Curly Eyebrows Come From:**  his grandmother

**Eldritch Form:**  His "Evil God" Class

**Notes:**  He was unfortunately an idiot during his older days as a hero. He gained his grace, intelligence and smaller quirks as a butler from Mei.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (So! Now 100% up to date! I wish I could have a more exciting chapter for you, but setups are always necessary. I might backupdate chapters about Gehenna's settings, but I will let you know when or if I do that. And once again, character updates are done at random, but also by demand. Wanna see a bio of most people? Ask away in the reviews! Author's notes may show up within the next 24 hours or so.
> 
> I'm enjoying the Vita version of Disgaea 3, and hoping to reach the part with our new catgirl. So yeah, if I'm even slower, that's why.)


End file.
